Broken Smile
by Tamashi.no.Koe
Summary: Whether Fuji likes it or not, he is given all the privileges of a tensai and is used to it. What happens to him when this fallen angel no longer commands the respect of his peers? Disclaimer: boring people with no stomach for wild excitement, do not read.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

_**Sachie**_

"Sachie! Did you see? He smiled at us!" Chiko squealed excitedly into my ear. "Fuji actually smiled at us!"

"He passed us in the corridor and he smiled at us. Uh huh. That should be headline news," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes, thought I do confess I had been excited too. It's just that I didn't tell the world, like Chiko did.

I normally didn't admit that I'd had a crush on Fuji since seventh grade. It would have just been embarrassing, because he obviously didn't like me back. Besides, my friend Chiko could get pretty wild if anything made her mad, so I kept my secret, well, secret. Most of the time, anyway. Though I wondered why Chiko hadn't guessed the truth, me having gone to every one of his games, just like she had.

"Do you think he actually remembers us? I mean, ok, we only spoke to him once and that was to borrow his dictionary, but still!" She just wouldn't shut up about it. I don't think I need to tell you, but she's way more obsessed with him than I am.

"Maybe," I answered vaguely. Sure, be probably remembered _her_, since she pounced on every chance to make him look her way, but me? I wasn't so sure. "Hurry up; it's nearly time for class. I think we have Math now."

It started off like every other Math class. We took our usual seats at the back, so that the chances of Chiko being asked a question would be minimal. She was hopeless at Math, partly because she spent the whole time watching Fuji. I actually listened to the teacher, which explained my better grades.

There was an empty seat in front of each of us, which was normal. I and Chiko kept to ourselves. You can imagine my surprise when someone sat down in the seat in front of me. I looked up and saw the one person who could make my heart race: Fuji had settled himself down in the chair. The funny thing was, he had come from Chiko's side of the room. That made me think.

"Fuji! How nice to see you!" Trust Chiko to try and get his attention. She was looked at him with this simpering smile plastered on her face.

"Saa, good afternoon...um..." I should've known he wouldn't remember.

"Chiko," my friend told him brightly.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. _Giving him your first name so soon?_ She, however, remained oblivious to my attempts to catch her eye.

"That last test was really hard, wasn't it? I'm terrible at Math. I totally need someone to teach me." Chiko was so embarrassingly obvious sometimes.

"Yes, it was quite difficult. What is it that you don't understand?" But he seemed to fall for it.

I shook my head as Fuji explained a random question Chiko had plucked out of the book. Knowing her, she probably was too mesmerized by his calm voice to understand a word of it.

She batted her long lashes at him between sentences. Another reason why I never let on that I liked Fuji; next to the outgoing Chiko with her thick, wavy brown hair, baby blue eyes and incredible figure, who would even take a second look at me? My eyes were a deep green, not bright like hers, and my long black hair was neat but kind of plain.

"And who is your friend?" I suddenly heard Fuji say.

Chiko nudged me. _What? He meant me?_ "Oh, hi, I'm Tezumi Sachie." I tried to sound casual while I was sure he could hear my heart hammering away.

"I hope you're good at Math, Tezumi, because your friend here really needs your help," he said jokingly.

"I never understand anything she tries to teach me, but give her credit, she definitely tries," Chiko joined in.

I shot her a look. She was making fun of me in front of my crush, after all.

Fuji just chuckled softly.

And so the lesson began. This time, both I and Chiko couldn't keep still. Chiko was ecstatic at being in such close proximity with Fuji. Me, I just couldn't see the board with him in front.

I could've sworn he had eyes on the back of his head when he glanced back, saw me craning my neck to one side, and silently moved over to the seat in front of Chiko, thrilling her very much. I didn't really think much of it though, and managed to keep my mind on my work until Fuji abruptly turned around and whispered, "Sorry to bother you, but I've forgotten to bring my calculator and we need it for this chapter. Could I share with you?"

Again, I was perplexed as to why he didn't ask Chiko, who was directly behind him and much closer. But it didn't bother me at all, of course. So we ended up passing my calculator back and forth through half a lesson. I'd pick it up right after he had returned it to my desk, feeling the fading warmth his hand had left on it.

Eventually we both realized that if he kept on turning back in his seat, we'd both get into trouble. So he came up with the wonderful idea of me moving up to sit beside him. "Sorry, but I really can't do Math in my head," he said apologetically.

_Oh, but there really isn't any reason to be sorry_, I thought giddily.

I finally found out what it was like to be Chiko. His face, so close to mine, with his brow furrowed in concentration, tore my eyes from my book. I had taken it for granted that he had never noticed me, but now...now I began to wonder.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

_**Sachie**_

"Oh no!" I searched frantically in my wallet for the missing dollar that I was sure I had put into it that morning. The lady behind the counter started grumbling that I was holding up the line. Lunch ladies were always in a hurry. I had ho idea why, but they just were.

Things were getting increasingly embarrassing, with me all but tearing my wallet apart.

"Here, I'll pay for that," a quiet voice came to my rescue and handed over the money. Maybe it doesn't surprise you, but it did shock me when I saw that it was Fuji of all people who had helped me out.

"Th—thanks!" I stammered, relieved that I wasn't in trouble and totally thunderstruck that Fuji had stepped in to help. It wasn't as though I was his friend or anything. Was I?

"No problem," he said easily. "Are you sure that's enough?" He scrutinized my miniscule sandwich apprehensively.

"Um, yeah, I think so, uh, so I'll give you your money back tomorrow..." I struggled to make my mouth work.

"It's ok, my treat," he laughed it off.

I went back to my usual table with Chiko, still absolutely stunned into speechlessness. Fuji Syusuke had just treated me to lunch! _Fuji Syusuke_ had just treated _me_ to lunch! It was nothing less than a dream come true.

Obviously I said nothing to Chiko about it, so she just chatted randomly as usual about Fuji, school, Fuji, the latest gossip and did I mention Fuji? Meanwhile, a positive whirlwind was tearing up my mind.

_Could it be? Could it really be that Fuji had finally noticed me? Could he want to be friends? Or—I can't believe this—could he _like_ me? Should I tell him that I like him? I mean, I've liked him for three years! But what if he rejects me? Well, he might not, since he was so nice to me. But what if he does?_

I waited eagerly for my next class with him, resulting in Chiko thinking that I was out of my mind, wanting to get to the boring English class. Remember, she had no idea that I liked Fuji.

When I stepped into the long awaited English class, I was delighted, though not half as astonished as I should've been when I spotted Fuji near my usual seat. In fact, he was right next to it.

Chiko pouted and mouthed "Not fair!" at me when I promptly sat down, but I sure wasn't going to get up and give the seat to her.

As I had half expected, Fuji turned to speak to me after a moment.

"I know this is terribly awkward, but it seems like I've forgotten to bring my English book as well. Would you mind sharing with me again?" he asked politely, giving me his very warm, very sweet smile.

"It's cool with me," I answered, suppressing a grin with difficulty. In the seat on my other side, I knew Chiko was fuming. It was too good to just merely be an accident. The odds of forgetting both his book and his calculator—incidentally two items used in the only two lessons I had with him—on the same day were just too slim to be coincidental. And of all the people he could've asked, he had to come to me. Twice. I was sure it had to mean something.

Forget about concentrating in class. With his head and mine bent close over the same book, all I could think of was whether I should confess to him.

_Are you crazy? You'll just get hurt!_

No, I won't! There's a chance that he really likes me!

_Why should he? He only asked to share your stuff._

But he wanted to share with _me. _No one else, _me_!

I was so engrossed in this silent inner battle that I paid no attention to the teacher, or anyone else, which I guess is why I was caught off guard.

"Thank you for helping me out so much today," Fuji thanked me sweetly.

"Any time," I said happily. On a fit of recklessness, I had the sudden urge to tell him everything, how I'd admired him from the day I first met him three years ago, how I wanted to be with him with every particle of my mind...everything. I opened my mouth, and would've blurted everything out, there and then, if Chiko hadn't grabbed my arm—and looking back, I should have gotten down on my knees and thanked her—and snatched up my bag, marching me out of the room.

"Chiko!" I whined. "Let go! You're pinching me!"

She held on to me until we had reached the school gates, her mouth set in a thin, hard line, eyes icy. Once we were off school premises, she flung my arm away.

"You like him," she snapped accusingly.

"Wha—what?" I was totally thrown off balance by this. "No! No, of course I—"

"Don't lie to me," she cut in. "You should have seen your face back there. You looked just like me—" she blushed slightly "—when I think of him."

"Chiko, listen, I—" Totally at loss, I didn't know what to say.

"You know I like him," Chiko yelled. "And you've liked him all this time, laughing behind my back at how stupid I look going after him, when you've just been waiting, biding your time till you can steal him away!"

As I said, she could really get worked up at times.

"Chiko!" I shouted back. "Just listen to me! I never, ever thought about doing that to you! Yeah, I liked him, so _what_? I've kept back all this time, haven't I? I've let you take the limelight. It's not my fault if he decides to share my book or whatever."

"Oh, so you_ knew_ he liked you," Chiko screamed, practically foaming at the mouth. "You _knew_ and you just stood by watching me _play the fool_, while you waited for him to go to you, _like you knew he would!_"

"Chiko, I didn't and don't know anything!" It was true, I knew nothing for sure.

"Yeah, and after you've lied to me for three whole years, I'm totally going to believe another word that you say!"

"Chiko!" I had run out of arguments. "Chiko!" I yell, simply because I couldn't think of anything else to scream at her. Besides, she actually had a point, for once.

"Well, I'm telling you know, Tezumi Sachie," she snarled, deadly calm and deadly serious. "If you look at him in_ that_ way again, you can expect never to hear another word from me."

Reason and anger kept little company together in this girl.

I watched her storm off, brown hair like a chocolate explosion, and I didn't know what to do.

Your crush since forever and your all-time best friend. What kind of choice is that?


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Sachie**_

It turned out that I didn't really have a choice. Chiko flatly refused to talk to me regardless of what I did about the whole Fuji thing.

Not wanting any more trouble, I steered clear of him if I could, hoping that I could cool Chiko down that way. I wasn't going to give up my best friend since third grade for some guy. Even if that was exactly what she was doing. I waited till the last minute to go to Math or English classes, saw which seat Fuji was in, and chose a spot as far away as possible. I went out of my way to avoid him in the cafeteria and hallways, all but running in the opposite direction when I saw him coming. Unfortunately, Chiko was doing the same to me.

I had tried everything, but sadly, nothing seemed to work. By the end of the first two weeks after our fight, I was thoroughly sick of not talking to her. That was the one thing I hadn't tried. Partly because, being the naturally social person she was, Chiko had made dozens of new friends who always surrounded her. And partly because I knew she wouldn't listen.

Only, I had to try, hadn't I? I missed her and knew it. Not being able to take it anymore, I approached her during lunch break, a little before the bell.

Miraculously, she was alone. "Chiko...uh...how're you doing?" It was very disturbing, not knowing what to say to her when I'd known her for more than half our lives.

"Oh look, it's the boyfriend stealer," she sneered.

_Whoa, that was harsh._ "Chiko," I sighed, praying for patience, "Chiko, two things. One, I really never meant to come between the two of you, honestly, and two, he's not exactly your boyfriend. Yet."

"Of course he isn't," she hissed. "Because you want him to be yours."

"Chiko," I exclaimed, beginning to lose my cool. "How many times do I have to tell you? I like him, yeah, I admit it. But I'm your friend. I always was. I'd never go for him if you wanted him. And honestly, why would he ever choose me over you?"

"Yeah, whatever you say, boyfriend stealer. You call me your friend? What kind of friend goes around snatching away people's future boyfriends from them? When your 'friend' has liked that guy for a whole year? Huh? What kind of friend is that?"

She just didn't get the point, did she?

"Fine," I snarled angrily. "You call me a boyfriend stealer? I'll be a boyfriend stealer. Only the person I'm stealing _was never your boyfriend._" Once I had finished rubbing it in, I marched off to my next class, which both I and Chiko shared with Fuji.

_She's gone too far this time_, I thought heatedly. I was going to confess to him, once and for all. I had yearned for this unconsciously for three years, I had wanted to do it, and now I had the lousy excuse to back me up.

Still, I didn't proclaim my undying love for someone every day; so I couldn't help but falter as I entered the classroom and saw him sitting there. My resolution started to melt, and I nearly backed down, but my still smoldering pride forced my legs to carry me towards him.

Gulping, I stepped up to him. I had never felt so nervous; never. I was so used to Chiko being right behind me in everything that doing stuff alone bothered me. Ironically, I was doing this exactly because she wasn't there by my side.

"Um, Fuji? I—I've got to tell you something," I choked out.

"Saa, good afternoon, uh...excuse me, I can't seem to recall..."

There I was, about to tell him the biggest secret of my life, and he couldn't even remember my name.

"It's Tezumi," I told him numbly.

"Ah yes, I remember. What do you want to tell me?"

"Um," I cast my mind around, trying to think up some excuse to tell him. Glancing at his desk, I blurted out, "You did questions 13, 16 and 21 wrong and your proofs for the others are horrible."

I didn't even wait for his expression to change--not that it would've--but turned on my heels after this outburst and charged out of the room.

So that was that. I was just another nameless, unimportant fan girl in his life. What else could I have done, besides thank my stars that I hadn't told him what I really felt?

Don't get me wrong, it still hurt. Oh yes, it definitely hurt. I'd just been rejected in the most cruel way possible, how could it not? But much to my amazement, my world didn't instantly fall apart. No, I felt nothing of the sort. There was pain, but that pain was weak, like how I normally felt when I got disappointed because I had failed a test. I felt terrible, but I would live.

Plus, a part of me actually felt happy that all the mystery had been cleared up. Now things were simpler. I sought out Chiko.

"Chiko," I went up to her with a teasing smirk.

"What?" she spat, though only half-heartedly. She knew that smirk.

"Guess what?"

"I couldn't care less," she declared. But I could tell she was curious. Once you're known a person for over six years, you know how to pull the strings.

"You couldn't care less that at this moment, Fuji's alone in a classroom with some horribly done Math homework? You don't care that you could go and bond with him over common puzzlement of algebra?"

"Really?!" Chiko was so predictable. "Why didn't you tell me—wait. Why are you telling me? Why aren't you there? You like him," she asked suspiciously.

"I liked him, Chiko, I _liked_ him."

She rushed off without another word.

I did feed kind of bad, because I really _was_ lying to her this time, instead of just withholding information that she wouldn't have wanted. Sure, Fuji could still speed up my pulse, but I was long past the stage of wanting him with every fiber of my body. True, the guy was hot, and would probably stay that way for some time, but the truth was I didn't know him very well. Too bad it had taken me three years to find out.

And the calculator, lunch and book thing? All accidents. By pure dumb luck he had ended up sitting with me two lessons straight. He had never felt anything for me at all, if forgetting my name was any indication. It had just been my wishful thinking making a fool of me.

I went off to class and found Chiko nearly jumping up and down with joy. I just let her. She could think whatever she liked about Fuji and I wouldn't mind. At least we were friends again, and could return to our giggling, whispering, note passing days.

I no longer had to hide when I saw Fuji coming my way. Almost every day, I would see his seemingly warm smile, which still looked like it was just for me, but I knew it would never be mine. For a split second I would stare into the eyes that had held my heart captive, and I saw absolutely nothing. And I would let him pass me by without a word.

We were people from two different worlds, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't get into his.

Walking past me, he never glanced back.

He had gone his way. I would go mine.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Fuji**_

"Fuji, it's time for your match. Be careful, ok?" Oishi was worrying as usual.

"I will," I assured him, taking up my racket and entering the court. This time my opponent was a sleepy looking individual called Jiroh. He looked harmless enough, but since this guy had managed to beat Yuuta—which was why I specifically asked to play against him—within fifteen minutes, I knew I couldn't underestimate his skills.

"Fuji! Good luck!" a girl screamed. I glanced her way to see a brown-haired, blue eyed ninth year that I vaguely knew from class. She was just one of the dozens of fans crowding the stands. I knew her by sight, having seen her at every single game. Today, though, something was missing. Didn't she usually show appear with a friend? A friend with long black hair by the name of Tezumi or something similar. The girl who had come to tell me that I'd done my Math homework all wring some time ago. I had forgotten to thank her for saving me from getting an F.

But I couldn't think about that now. I had to focus on the game.

Jiroh was still yawning opposite me. _Time to wake up_, I told him silently. _I've prepared a real eye opener just for you._

Taking up the ball, I spun it with a twist of my wrist. Slicing it with an underhand hit, I completed my serve.

At first, it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. But I knew otherwise. "This ball...is going to vanish," I said quietly.

Apparently Jiroh didn't believe me, because he raised his racket and prepared to return it. But just as he swung it forward, the ball suddenly sped up, though of course only I knew this. His racket hit air as the ball literally disappeared, reappearing a few feet behind him.

"Good luck," the girl had said. But I didn't believe in luck. If I couldn't win with my own skill, neither luck nor anything else could help me. They called me a tensai, but that was only because they didn't know how much time I spent practicing. If they had known how many all-nighters I had pulled, designing and trying out my new moves, they would never have called me that.

I took out another tennis ball and repeated the serve.

_This is for you, Yuuta..._

"Fuji! You did it!" my teammates exclaimed joyfully as I exited the court with another victory under my belt. It hadn't been an easy game. Jiroh was basically invincible near the net and it had taken quite a while for me to figure out how to keep him at the baseline.

"Thank you all for your support," I told the rest of the Seigaku regulars.

"Fuji! You were amazing!" The crowd screamed its approval.

"There's still some time before Tezuka's match and I'm a little hungry. I'll be right back, ok?" I said to Oishi and headed towards a burger joint I had remembered seeing across the street.

Almost immediately I was surrounded by a band of loud, giggling girls.

"Fuji!" They were all talking at once, trying to cover the others' voices, so that I couldn't understand a word besides my own name.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go somewhere," I explained apologetically. Still, they wouldn't let me go until I had given each and every one of them an autograph. Eventually they dispersed, allowing me to go my way. I picked up my pace, sighing. How did these girls find the time to come to all our matches anyway? Didn't they have anything better to do? What they did with their time wasn't my concern, but they did hold me up a lot, especially when I was in a hurry.

Sighing again, I shook my head. If there was just one girl whose life didn't revolve around her crush of the week...

Across the street there was a small park which I knew as a shortcut to the burger joint. All was quiet, save for the solitary _thump thumping_ of a tennis ball against a wall. But when I passed the courts, no one was there. The noise seemed to be coming from a neglected and very secluded part of the park. My curiosity got the better of me and I stopped to have a look.

A girl was there alone, practicing tennis. She was a beginner, judging from her posture and how she couldn't hit the ball on the sweet spot. I recognized her as the girl who had told me about my Math.

"Hey, Tezumi," I said, standing beside her.

Green eyes flickered towards me and returned to the ball. "Hi, Fuji,"

"I didn't know you played tennis."

"There are a lot of people playing tennis whom you don't know about," she replied coolly.

_Is she normally like this, or did I do something to upset her?_ She had seemed nice enough when I'd shared her calculator or something in class, but I couldn't think of anything I'd done to her, however I wracked my brains. "Try bending your knees more," I advised her.

She got better almost instantly. "Thanks. I wondered why I never improved much."

"You just need someone to teach you," I told her. "Are you in the tennis club?"

"No, I don't want to join yet. I want to see how far I can get on my own."

This slightly intrigued me, seeing as it sounded a little like myself.

"Good thinking. I hope it works out for you. But you do need to go against other people sometimes. How long do you think you'll be practicing?"

"For as long as I can still see the ball, I guess."

"Would you like it if I came after our match and practiced with you?" It was the first time I had offered to spend time with a girl outside school, and thus...

"Thanks, but I don't think that'll be necessary." Thus, it was the first time I had been refused by one.

It felt strange, hearing her say no when girls from the tennis club regularly asked me to help them with their game. Seeing as there wasn't much time, I forgot about my burger and started back towards the courts.

I stepped out onto the street, lost in thought.

Then, out of the blue, a horn blared and I heard the screeching of tires. I looked up, just in time to see the van speeding towards me, just in time for my reflexes to kick in and make my dive out of the way—

Before everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Sachie**_

"Sachie! Did you hear?" Chiko wailed to me, eyes streaming.

"What?" I asked, thoroughly alarmed. "What happened?"

"It's Fuji." I should've known. "He broke his leg!"

"Oh, he broke his--WHAT?!" I could barely believe my own ears. It was only two days ago that he discovered me in the park, practicing tennis. The bombshell struck my dumb for a moment. I grabbed Chiko's arm. "How do you know this?"

"I saw him in his classroom, sitting in a wheelchair," sobbed Chiko.

"Do you know...did he say if he'll ever be able to walk again?"

She shook her head sorrowfully. "I never asked."

I gave her a hug and patted her on the back. Considering the pain her crush was in, it was natural that she should feel shocked and worried too. A small part of this pain also reached out to me, but I resolutely refused to touch it. I had enough to think about with Chiko in her present state.

"Oh, Chiko, I'm sorry. You must be feeling horrible. But the best thing you can do for him is to act normal, you know? Let him know that nothing's different."

"Um...well...actually..." she mumbled something indistinct, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"What's wrong?"

She was acting very weird, for someone who was supposed to be distraught.

"It's just that...you know how weird it is, to be in love with someone in a wheelchair?"

"Uh," I said, thinking her question over. "What's wrong with that?"

"Just imagine," she said with an eerie giggle, "how would it look if you went on a date with him? It would look so freaky holding his hand, and he barely comes up to your shoulder..."

I loathed myself for it afterwards, but I had to laugh with her. "So what's the deal, Chiko?"

"I don't know. When I saw him just now...I realized I might never seen him on the tennis courts again, and you know that's where he's hottest..."

"Chiko?" I felt myself mentally back away from her. "Does this mean...?"

"Yes!" she burst into tears. "I've fallen out of love with him. I can't believe it!"

It was then that I realized however long you had known someone, there were still some things you miss out. Was this really my friend Chiko? Chiko, who had remained loyal to me—more or less—for so long, Chiko, who had recently dumped our friendship for the guy she was now no longer in love with? I've heard that love doesn't last, I mean, I've been told enough times already. But because the guy had broken his leg? What kind of reason is that?"

I noticed that she didn't try to catch Fuji's eye in class anymore. Instead, she exchanged winks with Eiji in Japanese History.

"Chiko! What are you doing?" I demanded of her.

"Don't you think he's hot?"

Seriously, what do you say to something like that? Me, I just picked up my book and buried my nose in it, ignoring her for the rest of the lesson. Out of the corner of my eye I watched Fuji work. I was relieved to see that he still looked normal, as in he still smiled. Though as happy as I was that he wasn't taking it too badly, I couldn't help thinking that he was being optimistic to the point of being unnatural.

Lagging behind after the bell, I saw that, predictably, his fan club was a lot smaller than usual. It scared me that there were so many girls like Chiko walking around. It made me think about how Chiko would react if it had been me coming in with a broken leg.

Still, what could I have done about it? I couldn't think of any way to help Fuji, except avoid him and avoid saying anything to embarrass him. Besides, the rest of the tennis club would help him out, I figured. It wasn't like I was his friend, or anything.

That day after school, Chiko tried to talk me into watching the boys' tennis club practice. I stubbornly refused, saying that I had my own tennis to work on. She was my best friend and all, but there were still some things about her that I couldn't accept.

Looking for a new crush right after her old one broke his leg, for instance.

So for the first time in a long time I exited the school building alone. It was very disturbing, how someone who technically had nothing to do with me could turn my work upside down. It was frightening, how someone I didn't know could shatter my trust in one of the people I loved most.

Slowly, I made my way to the school gates. But what was that there in the distance? I could see it was alive, because it was moving, but it was too short and fat to be a human. It had appeared out of the late afternoon sun, so I couldn't see it very clearly. However, when I got closer...

Turns out it _was_ a person. I'm sure, by now you can guess whom it was...I stopped in my tracks.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Sachie**_

Seeing Fuji wasn't unusual. I seemed to bump into him more than ever since my near confession. But the rope entangled in the wheels of his wheelchair definitely qualified as weird. Where do you find that sort of thing in a school, anyway?

It wasn't until I saw a few teenage boys sniggering nearby that I realized what was going on. Well, Fuji had reduced their chances of getting a girlfriend drastically before, so I couldn't deny that they had the motive to want to get back at him. But was that supposed to make me less mad?

Giving the already unfortunate a harder time was labeled by many as inhumane, but ironically, the thirst for revenge is one of the things that make us human.

"Fuji, hi." I went up to him. "Need help?"

"Hi, Tezumi. It's ok, I can probably get this off myself."

I examined the long black string that had somehow gotten everywhere, in the spokes, the mechanism that made the wheels move, and everything else. I doubted that Fuji could even see how badly he was stuck, let alone fix it. He had twisted his upper body as best as he could to face the mess, and was tugging fruitlessly at it. I sighed. Tennis would have to wait.

Kneeling down beside him, I pulled out a pair of scissors and hacked at the string. I found that it was very tough.

"It's ok," Fuji said again. "I'm sure Eiji or someone will come along to help. You don't have to do this if you're in a hurry." He attempted to wave my hand away.

"Yeah, Eiji will come. In about another hour or so," I said, rolling my eyes.

"No, it's fine, really. I can manage--"

"Oh, just be quiet," I snapped, slapping his hand out of the way. Don't ask me why I snapped, because I don't know. Seeing as scissors wouldn't do the trick, I took out my cutter and used that instead.

"Ok, I think I've got it all of by now." Standing up after more than fifteen minutes of kneeling, I stretched my aching legs. "Bye, I'll see you around." Why was I walking away from the chance to talk to someone I still cared about, despite not knowing a thing about him? As I said, don't even ask, because I can't answer.

The strange thing was, he caught up with me as I strode away. It couldn't have been easy, considering his position.

"Thank you for helping me."

"You needed help and I gave it. What's the big deal?" I mumbled grumpily.

He smiled, like he always had. "I'm going this way too. Let's uh, walk together." He stumbled over his words. It was understandable.

And so we walked. In silence. What wouldn't I have given for this, just a few weeks ago? But not I was basically ignoring his presence, like I was mad at him or something. In a strange, unexplainable way, I was.

"How is your tennis coming along?" he asked me, trying to be friendly.

"I got a lot better, once you told me what I was doing wrong. I'm working on my serve now. I want it to be faster. Slow progress, but..." I shrugged.

"Tennis is a very interesting sport," he stated out of the blue. His voice hollowed, and there was a distant look on his face. This guy either didn't care about tennis much, or was just really good at coping.

"Yes," I answered simply. "It is. I'm just sorry I started so late." His wheels made a faint ticking noise as we went along.

"It looks even more interesting now, that I can take the time to watch other people play," he remarked.

Slowly, I began to notice that something was very wrong. His tone was light, his expression never changed, but his words just didn't seem right. He loved tennis, anyone could tell. Then why was he acting as though it didn't matter?

"Did the doctor say when you'll get better?" I asked hesitantly.

"No." Finally, his voice betrayed some emotion. "He doesn't know if I ever will." He tried to hide his sadness, but it was like trying to cover fire with paper. Still he smiled. And that was what gave him away.

"It isn't healthy for you to keep your feelings bottled up like that," I told him straight out. "What happened to you is enough to make anyone feel bad."

"What are you talking about?" Yet he still tried to hide. "It's ok, really. Now Yuuta can play without people dragging my name into it—"

"Shut up!" I growled at him. "How long are you going to do this? Pretend that you don't care, and hide behind that smile of yours?"

"I'm just trying not to be pessimistic." He was being slightly more open at last. "It's just that I don't want people to know because they'll just worry. Besides, I'm trying to deal with it."

"Coward." I snarled it quietly, so that only he could hear.

"Wha—what?" I could have bet my life that no one had ever called him that before. Anger, mixed with a little disdain, coursed through me.

Once again I contemplated his ever-present smile. Now that I saw him plainly without my prior feelings for him blinding me, I could see that the smile had changed. It was no longer the easy, relaxed smile that I had adored. His was now the broken smile of someone grinning out of incredulity that he hadn't committed suicide yet. And I hated it.

"You weak, pathetic coward. You're hurting so badly inside but you won't let yourself cry. You're so messed up but you won't let anyone help. And you're trying to hide behind your feeble, broken smile."

I ran. Did I really used to have a crush on this guy?


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Fuji**_

She left me there, alone on the street in the rays of the setting sun.

She had called me a coward.

She had called me weak.

She had said I was pathetic.

Was I? I asked myself. All I had done was try to keep things to myself, keep that agony and undying fear that I would never walk again, all inside me. Because I could almost see people's reactions if I let on how I was feeling. The worrying, the pity... It was the pity that I would despise most, how people would try to help me out with everything. It would extinguish my already slim hopes of ever getting better. All I had done was try to keep myself alive, so that I wouldn't die of depression.

Then why did I get this feeling that she was right? I had tried to put a brave face on things. Didn't that make me strong? I hadn't killed myself or anything. Didn't that make me strong? I had tried to comfort my family by hiding my own terror. So I was brave...right?

I trusted my reasoning, but I trusted my gut more. And my gut was telling me that she was right. Never in my whole life had anyone told me that I was weak. No one.

What had I done to make me a coward? Nothing. But maybe that was the problem. That I had done nothing. Nothing to make me weak...and nothing to make me strong. It was more about what I hadn't done.

My mother was at the door to greet me when I arrived. "Syusuke! How are you feeling? Was school ok?"

I could've said yes. I could have told her everything was fine, and that would've been the end of the questions.

"Mom, I think I need to go to the hospital again."

Her eyes widened in fear and she gasped. "What happened, Syusuke? Where does it hurt?"

"I'm fine, mom," I reassured her. "I'm just thinking about getting crutches."

She heard this and looked at me worriedly. "But Syusuke...you remember what the doctor said...he doesn't know..."

"And if I stay in this wheelchair he definitely won't know," I explained gently.

In the end she had to give in. I took a trip to the hospital, ditched the wheelchair and exchanged them for a pair of crutches. Feeling much better, I hobbled my way home.

I would prove Tezumi wrong.

The next day I got up at the crack of dawn to prepare for school. It was very trying at first, having to limp along for five minute before I could get to the bathroom. It was still ridiculously early when I stepped out the door and headed towards Seigaku.

The trip was longer than I had anticipated. I had never appreciated just how far away the school was. My hands and arms were aching from always having to support the full weight of my body and the heavy bag I had didn't help.

Now that I could more or less walk, I couldn't expect to be allowed to use the lift normally meant for teachers anymore. The terrifying alternative was the stairs. All three floors of them. I was already very tired, but what choice did I have? I sighed and started my excruciatingly slow climb.

_Surely I should've bumped into Tezuka or someone by now_, I thought, raising my crutches yet again. Students were streaming around me, rushing onwards to their various classes. I could hardly believe that I had once been part of that happy, chattering crowd.

Fortunately, years of tennis training had strengthened my arms. But they still shook on my way to the second floor. I glimpsed some of my classmates passing by. No one stopped to help or even say hello. It was like I no longer existed.

"Fuji."

I couldn't even turn around to see who was calling me. A few seconds later, Tezumi skipped lightly onto the stair I was standing on. She was smiling.

"I see you're out of your wheelchair."

"I was afraid that if I stayed in it...I'd never get up again." There was no point in covering things up; the girl seemed to see right through me.

"You're already halfway there. Come on!" she encouraged me.

So I continued my methodical, halting steps, beads of sweat forming on my forehead. "It's nearly time for the bell," I told her, noticing the hall clock. "Go on, you'll be late."

"So will you."

"Yes, but you don't have to."

"Save your breath and walk," she commanded.

Silently, we went on as the crowd thinned. Only one more floor to go. Without knowing it, I groaned at the thought.

Quite loudly too, because Tezumi looked at me and said, "Give me your bag."

"Bad idea, Tezumi," I panted. "It's kind of heavy—"

"Just give it to me." She reminded me of Tezuka. Not being used to being ordered around by anyone but him, I was so shocked, I could only hand it over.

Without its weight, my movements quickened and my breathing eased, so that we actually made it on time.

When we reached our class, I expected Tezumi to take her usual place in the back. But instead, she pulled out a seat for me in the front, which I collapsed into gratefully, and sat down nearby. I guess I must have really looked exhausted, because she took one look at me and shook her head, pulling out my books from my bag for me and laid my crutches down on the floor for me.

I surveyed her silently once she had looked away.

For all that she had said to me, she wasn't all that bad at heart.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Sachie**_

"Hey, Fuji." I had gone to pick him up as usual after class. This time Chiko came with me, though her face fell when she found out that Eiji had already gone to the tennis courts. Having joined the girls' tennis club, I and Chiko had to go there too. No, I didn't type wrong, Chiko, the girl who wore mini skirts and basically worshipped jewelry, had decided to take up tennis. The reason is obvious, since the boys practiced in an adjacent court.

But who am I to talk? I had started playing because of Fuji myself. Except that Chiko had just wanted to be able to obsess over Eiji for every possible moment; and as for me...I'll let you know when I work it out.

Anyway, the three of us headed down to the tennis courts together. As in, Chiko rushed ahead, sometimes doubling back impatiently, and I hung back with Fuji, who was hobbling along was best as he could. It had been that way for a while.

"Fuji, slow down. You'll trip or something," I urged him, watching him struggling to go faster. I tried not to let him think that he was slowing anyone down, but being the tensai he is, I bet he knew anyway.

Only that didn't seem to be on his mind today. "They're announcing the regulars for the next game today. I want to listen."

I seriously didn't know how he stood it.

Given out difference in speed, Chiko was at the court and latched onto Eiji when Fuji and I got there. But Eiji didn't seem to mind; in fact he looked like he was enjoying it. Well, when you put two permanently overexcited people together, they're bound to get along. I could predict a very happy relationship for them both, providing no one cuter came along. Wish Eiji luck.

"Hi, Tezumi!" Momo came over. I had gotten to know the regulars, them being Fuji's friends. "Interested in a match after practice?"

He loved playing against me, for some reason. My speculation was that I was the only one around that he could beat with ease and not have to cheer them up again afterwards, as in the case of Chiko. That, and because my stupid moves on the court made him laugh.

"No thanks," I smirked. "Losing so many games in one day is just really bad for the athlete's soul."

"Aww, I promise you won't lose too badly."

"Maybe not, but you will."

He sniggered. It was one of our funnier private jokes.

"Tezumi senpai." Echizen looked up at me with his big black eyes. He looked so cute when he did that. It was a shame that he always wore a cap.

"Ochibi!" I grinned at him. I'd picked that up from Eiji.

He gave a heavy sigh and walked away with his cap lowered, but I knew he was smirking all the same.

"Alright, everyone gather round. I've got the list of the coming match's regulars!" Coach Ryuzaki called, clapping her hands.

I, Chiko and Fuji listened outside the court.

"Doubles Two, Takamura and Ishizaki. Doubles One, Kikumaru and Oishi. Singles Three, Kaidoh. Singles Two, Inui. Singles One, Echizen. Is that clear? Yes? Everyone continue to their practice!"

"I'm finally a regular, Tezumi. Changed your mind about me yet?" The guy called Ishizaki smirked at me. I had no idea why he hadn't given up on me yet, after the countless times I'd refused to go out with him after he had confessed. Oh, he was tolerable it he wanted to be, but I didn't think it would work out.

I looked heavenward in reply, not really paying attention. I was so sure I had seen Fuji twitch when the coach had read out 'Singles Two'.

"Fuji..."

"You'll be late for practice, Tezumi. Go on."

I rushed off with Chiko. Fuji no longer tried to hide his feelings from me, at least not much, but he still needed his time alone.

He was pretty much back to normal once I'd finished practice and met him outside the court. Chiko had gone off with some people from the girls' tennis club. He and I had taken to walking home together.

As we passed a burger joint, I noticed the other regulars inside. I stopped and turned to Fuji. "Come on. You need to spend more time with your friends." Tugging at his shirt, I pulled him inside the restaurant.

"Tezumi, I see them every day—" he began to protest.

"You've been hanging around me too much. These are the people you'll have to work with once you rejoin the team."

"Tezumi!" Momo yelled, spotting us. "You normally don't come here a lot. Have a seat. Hi, Fuji."

"Nya, it's Tezumi," Eiji said. Or tried to say, with his mouth stuffed full of burger. I shook my head pityingly and handed him a napkin, ordering him to swallow. I don't know about you, but hanging out with a bunch of seemingly half-starved guys wasn't my idea of paradise.

That was the price to be paid for dragging Fuji in by the crutches, I guess. But I had to do it. Because--I'd been around long enough to notice--whenever we showed up together...

The other regulars' reactions seriously bothered me.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Sachie**_

Sometimes Fuji and I would go to the street tennis courts during weekends. I guess he really meant what he said when he told me that he liked to watch people play. It was interesting enough, but I had much rather be the one playing.

"Saa, it's Yuuta!" Fuji exclaimed happily. This was also the place where I met a lot of the other good tennis player around.

"Oh, it's you, aniki." Yuuta said stiffly. "Tezumi." He nodded towards me. I didn't think he had anything against me in particular, but since I hung around his brother, he had probably mistaken me for a fan girl or something.

"Yuuta, since you're around, does this mean you'll be coming back home tonight?" Fuji asked hopefully. Their conversations were always so fascinating. As in, you could never quite believe that Fuji could take in Yuuta's indifferent words and still reply enthusiastically. On the other hand, I always wondered how Yuuta could be so cold towards with Fuji fawning over him like a puppy.

"I guess I'll have to," Yuuta said heavily. "I won't be able to make it back to St. Rudolph before they lock up."

"Great! Maybe I can get mom to make your favorite pumpkin curry. You almost never come home and we usually don't get to eat with you—"

"Aniki," Yuuta cut in. "Just...just let me play my game, ok?" Picking up his racket, he randomly challenged someone to a match. If Fuji had wanted to send his brother on a guilt trip, it hadn't worked.

Was I the only one who could sense his frustration? I mean, this is what he got from his own family. But again, there wasn't much I could do to help besides plunk him down into a bench to enjoy his brother's game.

"Nya, Tezumi! We keep bumping into you." Eiji appeared on the scene. "Hey, everyone! Tezumi's here! Oh, and Fuji too." I followed his line of sight to see Momo, Echizen, Inui and Oishi coming up the stone steps.

"Hi, everyone," I and Fuji said together.

"Aww, everywhere is full. We'll have to play doubles," whined Eiji, a little kid as he always would be.

"Let's see..." I said to myself. "Eiji with Oishi, that's a given. Inui and Momo, fine...wait, Echizen's on his own."

"Yes. Senpai?" Echizen turned his adorable eyes on me. "Would you like to try playing doubles?"

I chuckled weakly. "I'm not that good, you know."

"It doesn't matter. You just have to be on the court."

The boy was cute, but a little on the blunt side.

But it turned out quite well for us, actually. He plastered himself to the net and whatever he missed I could always retrieve. Either our opponents were really bad, or I was improving. We did, however, lose spectacularly to Momo and Inui, who turned out to be a pretty good doubles pair.

Since Echizen had done most of the work, I wasn't even tired by the time we had finished out games. I went back to Fuji, who was now staring openly at Yuuta, who seemed to be playing doubles with someone he didn't even know. The scores made it kind of plain.

"You'd give anything to be the guy playing with him, right?" I smiled sympathetically at the visible look of longing on his face.

The moment I said it, he switched back to normal mode, as in poker face mode. "Not a bad idea, but I'll probably just annoy him if I went out like this." He gestured at his leg.

Well, if he could laugh at himself it had to mean that he wasn't totally swallowed up by depression.

I continued to study him out of the corner of my eye, but gouged nothing else from his now emotionless expression. Maybe it's true, what they say about geniuses being the loneliest people on earth, because no one can quite compare with them. First his own brother gives him the cold shoulder, and now...

I got up and found Oishi, who had just finished his match. I handed him his water bottle. "Thanks," he said.

"Oishi," I started abruptly. "How long have you guys known Fuji?"

He eyed me strangely. "Three years, every since seventh grade, I guess."

"This'll sound a little weird, but who does he normally hang out with? Like a best friend or something."

"Um, he's friends with Eiji, they're in the same class. And he gets along with Tezuka. And everyone else as well, actually. Why? If you want someone to help you ask him out, I don't think I can recommend anyone." Oishi was smirking. Unbelievable.

"No," I sighed impatiently. "If I liked him I'd be over there talking to him. Just...ok, Oishi, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Try to get Fuji to hang out with you guys more, ok? I know it's kind of hard now, because of his leg, but just try."

Oishi considered me for a moment. "Why? And why me?"

"Just do it, please? As for why you, do you honestly expect Eiji or Momo to take me seriously and do you really think Tezuka or Echizen or anyone else to care?"

"Well, I don't have a problem with that," said Oishi with a shrug. "But I'd really like to know why—"

"You will, when you're around him as much as I am, and see the people he hangs out with."

"Who are...?"

"See? You don't even know. That's the problem." I looked back to Fuji. For all his natural charisma, the guy sure had some intimacy issues.

Now that no one was watching, that look had resurfaced on his features.

There was totally a reason why he always smiled and was nice to everyone. I wanted to help, I really did. I wanted to help him fill that empty void in him, which he tried to fill with random smiles and words of thanks from random people at random places. Except, could that actually work? I wanted to make him less lonely.

But how could I ever be enough?


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten**_

_**Sachie**_

"Do you need more water? I could go get some for you," Fuji offered as I came out of the tennis courts on shaky legs after yet another day of practice.

"It's fine. I'll go get some now. Stay here and wait for me, ok?" It would've been mean to ask someone on crutches to refill my water bottle. Plus, I would've died of thirst before he got back.

I hurried off to the water fountain. Fuji, for some strange reason, liked to watch me practice after school. Why anyone would want to do that eludes me. I still sucked at tennis, whatever anyone said.

"Hello, Tezumi. Thirsty?" Shimoda Magisaki, our team's vice-captain, grinned at me.

"As thirsty as I could possibly get," I said easily, filling up my bottle.

She finished her drink, but didn't leave. "Say, Tezumi, you hang out with the boy regulars a lot, right?"

"Well, not really..."

"I saw you playing doubles with Echizen the other day."

I laughed just thinking about it. "Yeah, and I hit him on the head once while serving."

Saki, as she had asked us to call her, smirked in amusement. "Good one. But anyway, if you do hang out with them next time, mind if I tagged along?"

So that's what she wanted. Of course. She was a girl, after all. "Who're you after?" I smiled slyly.

"That's for me to know and you to find out. So is it ok with you?"

"Yeah, sure, you know, Fuji's around right now—"

"I know. I saw him nearby. But I mean the boy regulars of the tennis club. You know, Tezuka, Eiji?"

"Fuji knows them better that I do," I insisted. "And once he gets better he'll rejoin the team—"

"Please," Saki sniggered, not sinister, but definitely not nice either. "_If_ he gets better and I mean the regulars _now_. Fuji's not even that close with them. From what I can see nowadays, they don't really hang out—"

"They do, but you're just not around to see," I cut in coolly.

"And you are?"

"I'm around Fuji a lot."

"Oh, right," scoffed Saki. "Well I guess I've come to the wrong person, since you only know ex-regulars."

"Fuji will make the team again once he can walk."

Her scorn was very provoking.

"Sure," she all but sneered. "But for now I just want to meet the regulars who can go places without crutches. The sort that can refill your water bottle for you when you're dead tired. Besides, Fuji looks like he'll be in those crutches for some time—"

"But eventually he _will _be out of them," I countered. "I guess you'll go back to worshipping him, just like all those other fan girls who stopped acknowledging his existence when he got injured!"

"I'm not interested in helpless birds that can't fly," Saki said dismissively. "Or tensais that can't walk."

Why did she have to drill on the point? Seething, I retaliated as viciously as I could without getting dragged to the office for bad language. "Yeah, that's right. I'm stuck with the bird with the broken wing. You know what? That's more than you'll ever be able to say for yourself, because the birds that can fly will never come near you!"

Apparently I had touched a nerve. "Oh? Well, I've always wondered why anyone would come near you, with that disgusting face of yours."

_Um, excuse me, but what does any of this have to do with how I look?_

"But it doesn't matter, does it?" she hissed maliciously. "You're content to have your broken winged bird. But a piece of advice: no self-respecting girl kisses trash."

That was the last straw. I rushed away from her hated presence, water bottle clutched in my hand, before I did anything drastic.

How could one accident make you go from hero to less than zero?

Fuji was still waiting for me where I'd left him.

"Tezumi, feeling better now? Tezumi—your water bottle—you're crushing it—Tezumi? Tezumi!" He nearly fell over himself trying to catch up with me.

"Tezumi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said through clenched teeth, tossing my crumpled bottle away.

"...and it's on a desert island, so you won't be disturbed. Make sure you take advantage of this..." Coach Ryuzaki was saying, but I paid no attention.

"Tezumi!" Fuji called out in a strangled voice. I turned around to see him lagging ten feet behind me and very out of breath. Breathing in deeply, I doubled back and we walked on side by side.

"Fuji?"

"Yes?"

"You'll get better, won't you?

"Yes."

"You'll get better and rejoin the team?"

"Yes."

I wished I could have some of his quiet confidence.

"Good," I said firmly. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

He looked at me and smiled; a comforting smile which almost made me believe that everything would be ok. I loved that smile.

Isn't it ironic, how I was the one who needed comforting? I studied him, him standing there in the evening breeze, as tall and straight as ever. He had known what he was talking about, I was sure of it.

Slowly, very slowly, my own lips curled upwards.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**Sachie**_

"That's twenty laps and it'll be forty if you do it again!" Coach Ryuzaki barked at me.

"Hai!" I set off running. Given that I'd left early the other day after my argument with Saki, I'd expected to be given some kind of punishment. I just didn't care at that time. Chiko had called me that night to tell me about the announcement that I had missed. The school was organizing a training camp for both tennis clubs, and members who had shown rapid improvement could go, as well as the regulars. The coach had probably gotten something wrong, though, since I was on the list to go too. Remember the desert island thing I'd heard a snatch of the other day? That had been about the camp.

By then twenty laps was no longer a problem for me. I finished the twentieth lap and only breathed a little deeper than usual. But—if you like jogging you might know this—my short run had given me time to come up with an idea. I sought out my coach, even though I wasn't in the best position to convince her of anything.

"Um, Coach? I was wondering, when you said that all the regulars could go, did you mean the regulars now?"

"Why, of course!"

"And...only people in one of the tennis clubs can go?"

"What kind of question is that? We can't just let anyone in school sign up."

"So, if there was this person, who um, was in the tennis club and hasn't actually quit but can't practice..."

"What are you trying to say? Spit it out!"

Things weren't going very well for me. As I had no visible talent whatsoever in saying stuff tactically, I figured the direct approach would be less of a hassle. "Do you think it would be possible for Fuji to go with us to the camp?"

"Fuji?" I had known it wouldn't be easy. "But I don't think he's in an acceptable state to train."

"Yes, I know." This was harder that I'd anticipated. "But um, being a tensai he should be able to learn by just watching and ever since he got injured he hasn't been, well, himself, and if he's out of contact with tennis for too long it might, uh, affect his game when he comes back." That sounded reasonable, right?

By the coach's expression, most likely not. "Tezumi, we can't have people joining just because they're our members' boyfriends."

"No!" I half yelled. I was already very sick of people taking it for granted that I was in love with Fuji. "It's just that he was a regular and will be again when he gets better—he never even officially quit the team—and well, he just can't live without tennis, can he? Plus, be can't play, but he's good at giving people tips on how to improve, so..."

"That doesn't make any sense at all, but I get your point." All right then. He can come with us if he wants to. Tell Fuji to come and see me if he does."

"Thank you, Coach!" I squealed joyfully and hurried off to my training with a new spring in my step. I couldn't wait to tell Fuji the good news, but I had to finish practice first.

"Oooh, Sachie, are you ok? Twenty laps! That was harsh!" Chiko came prancing over.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." The shocked look on her face was priceless. One of the reasons why I'd stayed friends with her for so long. She could be silly at times, but with her around you're never bored.

"Ok, everyone! Let's get started with some basic serves and returns," the captain yelled out to us. "All of you get into pairs!"

It was normally a given that I and Chiko would be a pair, so I went off to get my racket without saying anything.

"Chiko! Do you want to be my partner?" I spun around to see Saki giving Chiko her million-dollar smile. _Since when were they friends?_ I was really perplexed as to why the popular vice-captain would suddenly want to spend time with Chiko, who was social, but less well known. Before we had our fight, she basically only went around with me.

But that was nothing to how astonished I felt when Chiko actually said yes. Shrugging, she turned around, gave me an 'I have no idea what's going on but I want to go along' look and followed Saki to another court.

Saki really puzzled me, but I could worry about her later. There were more immediate problems at hand.

"Still no partner?" the captain asked briskly. "You can practice with Takahashi then. Takahashi!" A very small, very shy girl that I recognized from class but had never spoken to sidled up to us.

"Hi, I'm Tezumi." I gave her my warmest smile.

"Hi," she whispered, not looking me in the eye.

Nothing to be done except give her time. Besides, I'd probably be back with Chiko the next day. "Come on," I tugged her arm. "Let's go practice."

Despite her shyness, Takahashi's tennis was pretty good, but a lack of aggressiveness kept her from reaching her full potential. I couldn't help thinking that she was a nice change from Chiko, who still missed the ball sometimes, even when the shots were really easy.

But I forgot all about her once practice ended. I nearly flew out of the court and grabbed Fuji. Excitedly, I whispered the news of the camp into his ear.

Forget about being poker faced. His face glowed. I mean it. His face literally glowed.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**Sachie**_

We filed onto the ship that would be taking us to the island for our training camp.

"One, two, three, four..." Oishi, who had taken over as acting captain when Tezuka left, was counting us once again to make sure that no one had vaporized during the short bus ride from the school—where he had last taken attendance—to the pier.

"Oishi," Eiji sighed, losing patience. "If someone had disappeared we'd _notice_. Now come on!"

"Twenty, twenty one—hey!" Oishi was stopped in mid-count by Eiji and Momo who took him firmly by the arms and half lifted him onto the ship.

"Chill out, Oishi," I told him soothingly. "If anyone suddenly decides to vanish into thin air without saying anything, I'll let you know."

"And drop a note if someone falls overboard," cracked Eiji, making everyone laugh.

Chattering gaily, we made out way to the middle of the ship, where there were rows of seats placed together, eight in a row in the middle and pairs of seats at the sides. I grabbed Chiko's arm to prevent us from being separated. Fuji kept close behind me. I knew that because his crutches kept bumping against my legs.

"Come on, Chiko. Let's go find a seat—"

"Chiko! Come and sit with me!" Someone pushed past me, hitting my shoulder hard. Saki's wavy red hair, so like Eiji's got into my face as she brushed past me and wrenched Chiko's arm from my gasp, almost throwing her into one of the middle rows, where Oishi, Momo, and Eiji were already seated.

This happened so fast, I never had time to react. But seeing as Chiko had been spending more and more time with Saki lately, I had half expected it and just let her settle down and swoon over Eiji who was next to her.

But I was totally unprepared when I and Fuji passed the aisle, and Saki pulled him in too. I shrugged and was about to follow when she called out, "Inui, Echizen! Come sit here!" and motioned towards the remaining seats.

As surprised as I was to see Saki being nice to someone she had recently scorned, having him sit with the rest of the regulars wasn't a bad thing, so I kept quiet and turned to one of the side seats. Sliding into one, I found Takahashi next to me.

"Hi," I said brightly. "Excited?"

"Yes. I think it might be fun." After weeks of practicing with me, she could finally meet my gaze and smile a little.

"It will be," I assured her. "On a little island by ourselves with no one to tell us what to do—nobody will listen to Oishi anyway—and tennis day and night."

"I like tennis." It never ceased to amaze me when she made conversation on her own free will. "You can enjoy yourself and win without knowing anyone or saying anything."

Which explained her expression every time we were required to play doubles during practice.

"Hey, what's up, Tezumi?" _Oh no._ I knew that voice all too well. Not even bothering to look around, I sighed, "What, Ishizaki?"

"Hey, hey, don't jump down my throat yet."

"Fine. What do you want?"

"I think the question is, what do you want?" The guy loved to go psychological on me. He relished having lengthy conversations on why I didn't want him.

"Look, Ishizaki, we've been through this before—"

"No, we haven't."

_Of course we haven't. We've only touched on the subject for about ten thousand times. _I dearly wished that Fuji had been with me. He was normally the one who thought of the excuse for me to make a quick getaway in these situations. But since he was now sandwiched between Saki and Inui _that_ probably wasn't going to happen.

"Will you leave me alone for just this once—"

"Ishizaki. Could you go get us some cokes?" Takahashi interrupted. True, her face grew hotter than an oven and 'cokes' came out as 'C—Cokes', but it was an interruption all the same. And it wasn't even hard to work out what she had in mind.

"Yeah, Ishizaki. I'm really thirsty."

He shot out of his seat. "Two cokes coming right up."

I looked at Takahashi in a totally new light. "You are a _genius_."

She even went so far as to attempt a wicked grin. The effect was phenomenal. Her trick turned out really well, mostly because there weren't any vending machines on the ship. The sight of Ishizaki scuttling around trying to find the non-existent coke was enough to render us both helpless with laughing.

I almost forgot that neither Chiko nor Fuji was there with me as I whiled away the hours talking and laughing with Takahashi. With her, I could nearly forget about Saki. I could stop thinking about how Chiko had cancelled our tennis practice sessions to go shopping with her. And I wouldn't remember that right that moment, Fuji was hanging out with the girl who had called him trash just a while ago.

During the pauses in our conversation, I would look over towards the main body of the Seigaku tennis club members. I'd catch Fuji's eye, he'd get halfway up from his seat, and I'd expect him to come over. Until, of course, Saki pushed him back down with another new topic to talk about.

I and Takahashi were the only ones sitting away from the others.

Big surprise, huh? This time, it was. It totally was.

I had gotten used to it by then. I had gotten used to hiding away from the crowd, sharing private jokes with Chiko, and more recently, Fuji. And was funny as Takahashi was, she wasn't either of the two. As incredible a person as she turned out to be, she couldn't quite distract me from the triumphant smirks Saki threw at me, knowing that my two best friends were there beside her.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_**Sachie**_

Does it surprise you that I was arranged to share a tent with Takahashi while Chiko got to be with Saki? I thought not.

I was starting not to mind being around Takahashi instead of Chiko, but how could if not bother me that someone was deliberately trying to steal my best friend?

I succeeded in catching up with Fuji, who had agreed to share his tent with Takamura—again, Saki's handiwork; though this time I had to thank her—while we trekked up the mountain slope to reach the training grounds. Someone had bothered to set up tennis courts on top of a mountain on a desert island. Seriously.

"You know that game?" I said with a grin. "If you're on a desert island..."

"I'd still want to be with you." Fuji could be so sweet sometimes.

"Fuji!" I had begun to dislike that high, feminine voice with a passion. This time, I took a step closer to Fuji before Saki could wedge herself between us, resulting in her crashing into me when she tried to pull her usual trick.

"Fuji, what do you think—" I began, pretending that nothing had happened.

"Fuji, where were we? I remember you saying something about serves," Saki determinedly said over me.

"Yes, I was saying that if you gripped the racket harder..." he started, falling for the bait. Seeing as it would've just been really awkward for them to talk with me between them, I backed out and resumed my usual place at the back of the group, again minus Chiko and Fuji, but with Takahashi hanging around.

"Do you think Ishizaki has given up on the whole Coke thing yet?" she asked mischievously.

"No, I haven't," came a voice from behind. Ishizaki sped up to talk abreast with us. "But I think you'll have to wait till we get back to school, because there doesn't seem to be any around here."

"Just forget about the Coke, Ishizaki," I giggled. "That was just a ploy to get you out of our hair." Insults bounced off the guy's ego without making a single dent, so I highly doubted that the truth would hurt.

Indeed, he looked shocked for a moment, but recovered within seconds to say, "Sure, I knew that. But I went along with it to show my loyalty and undying devotion—"

"And stupidity," I muttered to Takahashi before we burst out into fits of laughter. Ishizaki only looked all the more pleased with himself for making us laugh, and the look of pride on his face made us howl ever more. This seemed to cement his opinion of himself being the funniest guy on earth. Thinking that I was finally warming to his 'natural humor', he took the liberty of draping his arm around my shoulder, which I couldn't remove at once, due to the stitch in my side.

Fuji, attracted by the sound of our wild screams of mirth, looked around to see both I and Takahashi practically choking—and Ishizaki holding me close while I seemingly made no attempt to stop him. I came to my senses just in time to see the look on his face.

_Did I just imagine that, or did Fuji just frown?_

But I never found out, because the next second he had looked away and I had put my full attention into getting Ishizaki off me. Still, I didn't try to keep him ten miles away like I normally did. Egoistic was he was, his antics were a steady supply of amusement for me and Takahashi, which helped to kill time as we continued the long walk up the mountain trail.

With two girls and a boy lagging behind the main group, talking among themselves, we looked remarkably like a small band of friends from not so long ago, a group consisting of Fuji, Chiko and I walking a little way from the other regulars as we headed off to a burger joint together. But now that group was scattered amongst the rest of the tennis club members, and it made me feel uneasy.

We decided to set up camp near the tennis courts close to the peak of the mountain.

"Fuji, here, let me take that, and oh, here's some water—" Saki was bustling around Fuji, trying to help him with anything and everything she could. I watched her running rings around him so that he could barely move for fear of hitting her. Breathing out a sigh, I went over and eased Fuji's towel—the first thing he reached for after every tennis match—out of his bag and silently handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said gratefully. There were still some minor details that I knew and Saki hadn't noticed yet. But that didn't keep him from setting up his tent right next to hers, while I and Takahashi had our some thirty feet away. I knew it had been Saki's doing...but why hadn't he objected?

I was so distracted that I completely lost the ability to coordinate my hands into helping Takahashi set up our tent. My mind continued to whirl as I made another attempt—in vain—to prop it up.

"You need help?"

Fuji made me jump by materializing behind me. I did need help, but how was he supposed to keep himself upright while messing around with the poles and ropes and things? "Um, it's ok, I—"

"_I'll_ help you, Tezumi." Ishizaki barged loudly onto the scene. Seeing as neither Takahashi nor I could make anything of the task, we let him. Listening intently to Ishizaki's instructions, I never noticed Fuji walk away.

Soon, it was time for dinner. "Fuji, you want to come and sit—" I started to say.

"Oh, sorry," he cut in. Which had never happened before. It was like, a rule of nature: the sun rose from the east, water flows into the sea and Fuii never interrupted. "I said I'd eat with Saki."

Saki gave me a secret smirk as she led him away.

Uh oh.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_**Sachie**_

"See? Even your crippled bird prefers me to you," Saki hissed quietly. "He told me, you know? He told me how _boring_ it was hanging out with you, how he_ hated_ it, but had to stick to it because no one else was there. You should've heard how he _thanked_ me for keeping you away—"

"Don't say that! It's not true!"

Words after my own heart, except I never said them. Takahashi had come to my rescue, and for the first time since I'd met her, she looked angry.

Saki ignored her. "Chiko too. How she _complained_ to me every time she came over to my house! How she wished she hadn't wasted all those years--"

"Shut up! Don't talk to her like that!" Takahashi intervened again, a snap in her voice.

"Don't talk to _me _like that," said Saki, very disdainfully. Once again I saw the icy scorn in her eyes, as she showed her true colors underneath all the niceness she covered herself with. It was this side of her, I was sure, that had withheld from her the captaincy of the girls' tennis club, despite her superior skills. "But it doesn't matter. Who would waste time listening to anything _you've_ got to say?" Her would-be casual tone made it sound all the more insulting. "Why the coach let you come when you're obviously not fit to pick up balls with the seventh graders..."

"Stop it!" This time I was the one who spoke. "If you've got any more cheap shots to spit out, say them to me. Leave Takahashi out of it. This is between the two of us." Saki really had a knack for making people fire up.

"What is?" she asked smoothly. "We don't need to argue the point, Tezumi, since it's so obvious that I've won." Her leer made me sick to the stomach.

The whole of her made me want to throw up, I decided, watching her snuggled up between Chiko and Fuji around the barbecue fire. The way she was using them disgusted me. How long would it be until she decided that she had made her point and pushed them away like the unwanted pieces of junk she thought they were?

But it really amazed me all the same how someone could go to such lengths just to prove herself right.

"Tezumi?" Takahashi tapped my shoulder.

"Huh?" I said distractedly, tearing my eyes from the figures around the adjacent fire.

"You're burning your sausage."

I looked down to see a crumbling mass of charcoal on the end of my barbecue stick. Giving a short growl of annoyance, I tossed it into the flames.

"Tezumi! How's it going?" Another voice blared into my ear.

"Not now, Ishizaki," I groaned, praying that I could stop myself from punching him.

"Tezumi, Tezumi, Tezumi." He faked a saintly tone. "How can you be so mean to someone who only came to offer you a can of Coke?" I felt him wrap an arm around me from behind and sure enough, he was holding a can of the long awaited soft drink.

"And here's yours," he said, tossing one to Takahashi and dropping down onto the bench next to me, wasting no time in spearing another sausage onto my abandoned fork. "You may not know this, Tezumi, but food is meant to be eaten, not burnt. We have charcoal for that, see? Now watch the master at work."

Too preoccupied to give him a smart comeback, I simply took a sip of the coke and went on with my absent-minded staring at Saki. I debated whether I should just tell Fuji the whole story, starting from my argument with her. But was there proof? Would he believe me? Technically, Saki wasn't even doing anything wrong, except make a few new friends, albeit a little aggressively. And of course she'd deny everything.

"Here's your dinner," I vaguely heard Ishizaki say. Realizing that he was trying to get me to hold the barbecue fork, I took it and bit into the sausage, which turned out to be a bad idea, since it was still very hot.

"Thanks," I said grudgingly.

"Oh, sorry, I've forgotten the honey." Gently pulling the fork away from my face, he brushed on the sticky substance.

At that moment, I happened to look up...and found Fuji looking in my direction with narrowed eyes. The flame flickering in front of him was just enough to illuminate his face, revealing an obvious frown. When our eyes met, he turned back to Saki and engaged her determinedly into conversation.

"Hmm, you'll need a napkin. Where are they?" Ishizaki looked around once I had finished.

"Fuji's holding them," Takahashi told him.

Sauntering over, Ishizaki asked Fuji to hand over the napkins. The two of them weren't very far away, and even I could hear him clearly. But apparently Fuji couldn't. He continued talking to Saki like he couldn't feel Ishizaki rapping him persistently on the shoulder.

"Fuji? Excuse me? Fuji!"

"Momo, could you pass the honey?" Fuji seemed to see right through the guy who was now almost yelling into his ear.

I couldn't think what his problem was. The only other person that Fuji had ignored like that was the manager of St. Rudolph's tennis club, and that was because the curly-haired individual had done something to harm Yuuta. That I could understand. But as far as I knew, Ishizaki had never even met Fuji's little brother.

_What's up with him?_

"It's fine," I called out to Ishizaki at last. "Just forget it."

My mind still whirling over everything that had happened, I shifted my position and with a swipe of my hand knocked my can of Coke to the floor. "Oh no—" I bent down to clean it up, but remembered that I had no napkins. "Ok..."

"Leave it," Takahashi commanded. Before I had gotten over the initial shock, she had steered me back to our tent. It was dark inside, and neither of us spoke for a while. There was too much to think about, in my case.

"You don't really want to be with me or Ishizaki, right?" Takahashi suddenly said.

I instinctively denied it. "No, of course I want to. Ok, Ishizaki not so much—"

"Tezumi," she said gently. "You can lie to me but please don't lie to yourself."

That shut me up at once.

"I've tried to be as nice as possible, but I guess I'm just not Fuji or Chiko." She sounded a little sad. "You know you miss them. Why don't you go talk to them?"

I sighed dejectedly. "What's the point? You heard Saki. She won already."

"Tezumi," Takahashi said sternly. "We're talking about friendship here. No one 'wins' or 'loses' in her sense. Has it ever occurred to you that someone can be the friend of more than one person at a time?"

"She'd never let me. She'd get between us—"

"Quit being so weak."

I froze, and not just because it was totally out of character for Takahashi to say something so harsh.

"You want them back beside you, and you want it so badly that you can't think of anything else, but you won't even try to talk to them. What's gotten into you, Tezumi? You tried to protect me from Saki just now, so why can't you protect yourself? Why won't you fight for what you want?"

Her words were ringing, over and over again in my head.

_"Quit being so weak."_

_"What's gotten into you, Tezumi?"_

_"Why won't you fight for what you want?"_

_Coward..._

"Takahashi," I whimpered. "Takahashi..."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_**Sachie**_

I had sworn to help Fuji fill the empty void in him. I had sworn that I would be strong for him. But I never dreamed that I would one day need someone to fill the dark abyss that was now opened up deep inside me.

Takahashi tried to be there for me. She allowed hot tears to soak her clothes and hugged me tight as I clung to her. I held her small body to mine, as if some of her calmness could trickle into my own hurting heart. So much had happened during the past month. Fuji's accident...Chiko falling out of love and back in again...and now the surfacing of a new adversary. I had to confess that I was tired. Helping Fuji, counseling Chiko, fighting Saki, it had all sapped the energy out of me. But now, it was my turn to lean against someone else's arm. And I was thankful for it.

I had never forgotten that afternoon when I had freed Fuji's wheelchair from that rope. Takahashi's words shed some light on how he must have felt after I'd left him.

_I'm sorry, Fuji. I'm so sorry._

There was nothing I could do now, except try to make up for it.

"Takahashi...if I went to find them, would you go with me?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, Takahashi."

"Hitomi. Call me Hitomi."

I smiled through my tears, unlimited gratitude bursting in my chest. I could begin to understand why Fuji had stuck to me for so long.

"I heard they're going for a walk tonight. What about it?" Hitomi whispered.

"Sooner better than later." Drying my tears, I followed her out of the tent.

A murmur of voices resounded from the general direction of the barbecue fires.

"Come on," someone said. "Let's put this out. We can follow that trail..."

"Let's go." Before the last fire had been extinguished, Hitomi and I managed to spot Fuji fading into the darkness alongside Chiko, Saki and Eiji. Weaving in and out of our dispersing teammates, we silently caught up with them.

"Chiko! Eiji!" I forced out a cheerful tone. "Hi, Fuji, Saki."

"Excuse me, do you mind?" Saki uttered in a sweet voice dripping with fakeness. "We're having a walk now."

"I see. But Saki, I don't recall you telling us that you owned this path," I said smoothly. "Therefore I don't think it's—prudent—for you to decide who gets to walk on it. I and Hitomi would like a walk too, you know. Thus..."

Saki said nothing, but I was certain that the dark night hid a very nasty expression.

"So, Fuji," I said cautiously, anxiously waiting to see if he would reply.

"Yeah?"

I smiled, and felt Hitomi squeeze my arm.

Training began the next morning with us in much better spirits. My good mood wasn't dampened even by the fitness exercises, though that was mainly because Oishi hadn't the unfortunate habit of dishing out laps for every little thing.

Things got somewhat tenser when he decided to let us train by having matches. Imagine how flabbergasted I was when Saki approached me and asked—quite politely—whether we could have one. Being stuck in brain-lock I couldn't come up with an excuse fast enough, which is why I ended up standing stupidly on the court while Saki won the first game using serves only. It was so unfair that someone as nasty as her could actually have a talent. Besides torturing people.

Still, I couldn't just throw in the towel, could I? Bouncing the ball, I readied myself for the uphill battle before me.

"Good luck!" Chiko screamed. I wondered who she was cheering for.

_Most likely for Saki_. Angrily, I struck the ball with all the force I could muster without ripping my arm off.

Saki coolly dropped it near the net. It was going to be along game.

"Shimoda wins, 6-0!"

_I have to train harder_.

"Water," I gasped to myself, lunging for my bottle. And missed because Ishizaki got there first. "That's empty. Here." He held out another one. Desperately thirsty, I gulped the ice cold water down, as reluctant as I was to let him help me in any way.

"Thank you, Fuji! That's so nice of you!" Saki's extravagant praise drifted over to me from over twenty feet away, catching—or should I say throwing a net over and dragging off—my attention. I was just in time to witness a very touching scene of Fuji painstakingly offering Saki a towel. The transaction took so long; I could've pulled out a camera and snapped some pictures before her hand touched the fabric.

_Saki making a big deal of it I can understand. But why is Fuji playing along?_ Not wanting to let then know they had gotten to me, I simply went on drinking.

Having left my towel in my bag, I followed the winding mountain path back to the tents.

"How does it feel to have your _ex_-best friend cheering for your opponent?"

"Why are you wasting your time wasting your time, Saki? I thought you'd said won."

"I like to rub it in. But this isn't like you, Tezumi. Don't tell me you're not going to try and sink your grubby little hooks into either of them again. Even you aren't that weak."

Weak. Again, weak. "No," I agreed lightly. "Of course I'm not giving up yet. But I'm going to let you stick your head in the clouds for a while longer."

In a flash she had jumped in front of me, blocking my path. "While you'd better keep that ugly head of yours in the sand, because if you haven't noticed my now, they chose to be with me!"

"Yes," I said, sounding as bored as possible. "Because you practically handcuffed them to you and threw away the key." With that, I side-stepped her and tried to walk away.

"Hey! I'm not done with you yet—" Grabbing my arm forcefully, Saki tried to block me again. She leapt onto the path before me...

A scream shattered the sleepy silence. I felt my arm being jerked downward—my knees buckled and gave way—and before I knew it, I was rolling down a rocky slope with Saki in tow.

Down and down we tumbled, stones and various unidentified objects hitting us all the way. Grass cut my arms and calves as I rolled over them, branches snagged at me but failed to slow my progress, and the wind as knocked out of me every time I crashed against a log. I thought the soil would never stop ripping at my face until the ground suddenly dropped from under me—I flailed in mid air for a few seconds—and I was plunged into a freezing mass of water.

The coldness of the river made me gasp, so that I swallowed what seemed like galleons of water before I remembered to close my mouth. Instinctively I kicked out, lungs bursting for air when I finally reached the surface.

_Saki._

Fighting to keep myself afloat, I glimpsed her slipping under the water and out of sight. By pure luck she collided with me a moment later, and a low hanging branch nearby saved us from being swept away by the current.

Shivering and exhausted, panting and groaning, I lay on the bank catching my breath.

_Where are we?_ I managed to wonder before the dark grey sky above me faded into nothingness.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

_**Fuji**_

After a day of watching Eiji do back flips while hitting the ball, I followed the others back to the campsite. After Tezumi's match, I had wandered around observing random games and considering the one she'd just lost. I understood that healthy competition was good, but going so hard on an opponent who had only recently mastered backhand? That had been totally unnecessary. Tezumi had been furious on finding out that she was constantly running in the opposite direction of the ball.

_And speaking of Tezumi..._I craned my neck, but couldn't see a thing besides the heads of the crowd, not being the tallest person around.

"Oishi," I caught hold of the exhausted captain. "Have you seen Tezumi?"

"I...erm...I'm not sure. You should ask her captain..."

"She said she was going to get her towel from her tent," injected Ishizaki who had overheard. "But then she didn't come back for a while.

He looked so smug knowing where Tezumi was while I didn't. I took his words to heart while pretending not to hear. _Come to think of it, I haven't seen her since this morning. _But he had said that she'd gone back to camp. She'd probably still be there, though it was very unlike her to skip a whole day of practice.

After what seemed like hours, we reached the campsite and I made a beeline for Tezumi's tent, which was regretfully as far away as it could get from mine. But I never had the time to reach her resting place, because someone got to me first.

"Fuji!" A girl called Takahashi who was normally around Tezumi in practice trotted to my side. "Have you seen Tezumi?" we asked together.

"She's not with you?"

"She's not in the tent?"

We looked at each other. "Captain!" we yelled. But Yoshizawa, captain of the girls' tennis club, hadn't news of Tezumi either.

I began to worry. Chiko chose this moment to come and ask if I knew where Saki was.

"I don't know," I answered, not really paying attention. Then it occurred to me that if Saki and Tezumi were missing together, it mightn't be such a bad thing. The vice-captain would surely take care of the younger member.

But the pearly grey sky slowly turned into a deep charcoal black and still there came neither sight nor sound of either girl. I hand Takahashi finally agreed to report them to Oishi. His reaction, anyone can guess.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner? Oh no, a storm's coming! They might be lost—or hurt—oh no! We need to organize search parties..."

Armed with flashlights and first aid supplies, we all fanned out into the dense woods. The island wasn't very big, but at night with the threat of heavy rain...

"Fuji!" Takahashi hung on to me. "You know Tezumi best. Where do you think she could've gone?" A pang of regret coursed through me as I cursed myself for not finding out her favorite haunts.

"You don't know?" She said in frustrated disappointment. "Ishizaki said she had come back here...we should check the path leading to the courts first. There may be clues..."

Assertive as I had never seen her before, Takahashi led the way along the mountain road. My eyes raked every rock, every tree, every patch of grass, though I barely knew what I was looking for. A shock of white under a clump of bushes caught my eyes. Bending down, I pulled out a once white racket, now splattered with dirt.

Takahashi gasped. "That's Tezumi's!"

Dropping onto my hands and knees, I scrutinized the area under the dim light. Tezumi would never leave her racket lying around. _Something must have happened to her_. There was a bare spot of dirt next to the bush, clumps of grass uprooted nearby, as if someone's shoe had ripped the vegetation away forcefully. I felt the grass. It had only just begun to wilt.

"Ta—Takahashi..." I said, shaken. "I think...Tezumi may have..." Peering down the slope, my heart caught in my throat as I saw the steep incline and the sharp drop at the end. I scrambled up. "There must be a way down."

Crashing through the undergrowth, we forced out way down the slope once we could find an area that was slightly less steep. _Tezumi...please be ok._

I fought to control my panic, the relentless waves of fear that struck me again and again. Would I see her again? Would I ever be get the chance to make up for being so cold to her the night before, leaving her to sit alone with only Takahashi and Ishizaki for company?

Could I have prevented this? I should have gone with her; I would have gone with her this morning when she left, if I hadn't been so intent on putting on a show with Saki that I'd never seen her leave.

_Why had Saki played along anyway?_

After a while of breaking free from branches that tore at our clothes and tripping over roots, we finally reached a spot almost directly underneath the place we had discovered Tezumi's racket. If she had indeed fallen, she would most likely be around.

All was quiet, save for the gushing sound of a fast flowing river. From afar I squinted up the slope. It ended in a small cliff which ensured a ten feet drop into a mass of rushing water for anyone tumbling down it.

A chill went up my spine. The river might have serve as a cushion for her fall, and so was desirable...providing Tezumi could swim. She'd never mentioned anything on the subject to me.

"Come on, this way." I ambled towards the river as fast as my injured leg would allow. Stumbling up to a tree, I roughly shoved the leaves away, revealing a small clearing.

The moonlight shone on a sandy bank, with a solitary tree leaning over the water. I scanned the area through the darkness.

My eyes flew open and my heart went cold.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

_**Fuji**_

"Tezumi!" I breathed.

Takahashi rushed past me in a flurry and flung herself at her friend's side. _My leg... _How I hated those crutches, for preventing me from doing the same. They sank into the sand, stealing away precious time until I threw them down and crawled the last few feet to Tezumi's motionless form.

"She's soaked," Takahashi uttered despairingly.

"Take off her jacket," I ordered. "I'll give her mine."

It wasn't until then that I noticed the figure beside her. Saki lay there, as still as Tezumi, her wrist clutched in the other girl's hand. A heavy weight seemed to be lifted off my shoulders when I discovered a pulse.

"We've got to get help—"

A faint moan escaped from Tezumi's lips.

"Tezumi! What happened? Are you ok? Tezumi!"

She gingerly sat up and cradled her head in her hands. "Splitting headache."

"We need to get you both back to camp. Let's wake Saki up..."

By then Saki had begun to stir too. Draping my jacket around Tezumi, I said, "Can you two walk? We'd better start out soon if you can."

Peals of thunder rumbled in the air as Takahashi and I helped the two shaking girls up. Retrieving my crutches, we hastily re-entered the dark woods. The journey was painfully slow at first, with Tezumi and Saki only half conscious, not to mention my own disability. A few minutes passed and Saki revived a little, enough to notice the lightning splitting the sky. Looking back, she saw me and Tezumi stumbling behind her, propping each other up. For the first time, I spied a flash of irritation cross her face.

She turned to Takahashi. "Tezumi's injured. She can't get too far on her own. Why don't we go ahead and get help?"

"She looks ok to me. A little groggy, maybe, but ok. And besides, there won't be anyone back at camp. They're all out looking for you and her."

"Still, we could probably get some bandages or something," Saki insisted.

"Bandages?" Takahashi rummaged in her bag. "I've got some."

"But it's going to rain soon! Heavily too, by the look of things. Well, it doesn't really matter for me, but you..."

"I don't mind."

"Takahashi," whined Saki, exasperated. "I'm dead on my feet and I feel like I'll _die_ if I don't get warm soon! Could you just take me back first?"

"And leave Fuji and Tezumi behind?" Takahashi said incredulously.

"By the rate we're moving we won't get back until dawn!" snapped Saki.

Her words were like a punch to the stomach. Once again I was slowing someone down. Tezumi normally acted as though I did not, but I knew that was purely in the interest of sparing my feelings.

"Hitomi," Tezumi whispered feebly. I wondered who she was calling until Takahashi turned around. _They're on first name terms? How could I not know—oh, yeah, right_. "Just take her back first. Fuji knows the way. We'll come along later."

"Tezumi, I can't just leave you two—"

"Don't worry." She smiled through her exhaustion. "I'll be with Fuji."

Warmth gushed through me.

Takahashi seemed to understand something I didn't—no surprise there—because she smiled knowingly and motioned for Saki to follow her. Their receding footsteps faded away as they gradually vanished into the distance. Now, it was just me and her.

Gentle raindrops sprinkled down through the trees, covering us in fine droplets of water. The rough soil crunched beneath our feet, wearing away at the rubber tips of my crutches.

"Tezumi, what happened?" She normally had a very good sense of balance. Falling down mountain slopes wasn't something that happened to people like her.

"I don't know," she said tiredly. "I was walking along that dirt road...Saki was there...something grabbed me...the next thing I know, I'm hauling her out of the river."

"Look," I tried to come clean. With myself, anyway. "I really should've gone with you. But—"

"Fuji." She sounded so weary. "It's fine. I know."

Since she possessed the superhuman patience needed to hang out with me in my present state, I figured it would be save to assume she could forgive and forget really easily too.

"You have the right to make your own choices in what you do, anyway," she added.

_Well, I didn't really_ choose_ to be getting Saki's water bottle for her while you walked off..._But since she didn't appear to be angry at me, I wasn't going to complain.

"But still, I know we haven't been spending that much time together recently, and I really do miss the day when we'd spend the afternoon with Chiko in a burger joint just talking about how Momo fell asleep in class and things like that. I guess I've been..."

"A little preoccupied?"

_I rest my case. The girl reads me like a book._

It was really pouring now, and the dancing leaves offered little shelter. It was getting hard to see. Sitting down between some sparse trees—it was a lot wetter there but at least we wouldn't be struck my lightning—Tezumi covered us with my dripping jacket. It was kind of cramped, but I didn't really mind. I put my arm around her to keep her warm. A little warmer than she was, anyway. 'Tezumi, we can do more together afterwards, right?" I whispered into her ear. "After all, you're the one who won the chance for me to come here," I added jokingly. "Everything can be just like before."

I expected her to smile, and tell me that we could. But she didn't say anything. Gazing misty eyed out into the sheet of rain, she never replied.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

_**Sachie**_

Another month passed and I slowly got over my ordeal at the camp. I had had to stay out of action for the remaining part of it, mainly due to the fact that I had been admitted to hospital. Which I resented, because Saki had to do no such thing and was improving all the while. She stopped bugging Chiko and Fuji, though, to repay me for not telling the world that she had caused the accident, I suppose.

As for Fuji and I, well, he spent every moment he could on the phone with me while he was still in the camp. But as he had said, I _am_ the one who got him there, so I guess he felt obliged. Funnily enough, I'd have preferred that he went back to Saki, if that were the case, but I couldn't exactly tell him to get lost, could I?

So everything was back to normal. It looked that way, at least. Except with Hitomi where Chiko should have been. Chiko seemed to still want to be with Saki. True, we still sat together in class and went down to the tennis courts together, but once we were out of school or during the weekends, she'd run off somewhere else. Without me. But given that she'd didn't need me to get her a place in any training camps, she was totally free to do so.

It was a Saturday morning and I was lying in bed, thinking about what I wanted to do. Once you've worked non-stop twenty four hours a day to make up for all the stuff you should have done while you were recovering from a tumble down a mountain, you begin to appreciate what a luxury it is to be bored.

The sound of my phone ringing startled me. Lazily getting up, I pressed the intercom button. "Hello?"

"Tezumi."

Did I mention that besides being a poker face, Fuji was also a poker voice? So it was normally near impossible to tell how he was feeling over the phone. But this time, his words shook, though I couldn't guess why.

_Let it be good news, let it be good news..._If another nuclear bomb had been dumped on Japan, I expect his voice would be similar to the one he was using now.

"I went to the doctor this morning and..."

_Let it be good news, please let it be good news..._

"...he told me to try and...walk."

"Wait for me." Dropping the phone like a hot potato, I practically flew out the door. For a while it was exactly like the old days, before Saki. I'd rush over to his house the moment he said the word, like I was doing now.

Fuji was on the doorstep. I raised my eyebrows at the crutches he was still using.

"My leg buckles every time I put weight on it."

"And did you fall down?"

"No, but—"

"Then you're fine. The doctor says so, anyway."

"I don't know, maybe I should wait for a while..."

"Until when? Next month? Come on, Fuji."

Still very doubtful, he balanced on one leg and slowly lifted his crutches.

"I'll take those," I said, grabbing them.

"Hey! I might need—"

"No, you won't. Down the path and back again, that's all, ok?"

He had been waiting for this moment for so long already, so why prolong the agony? After walking, there would be running, and after running would come tennis. And once he had tennis back, be would be...he would be Fuji again. Fuji the tennis tensai with the never-lost-a-game record.

And the journey back began with his first step. His leg shook so badly his whole body trembled, up to the hand he had kept on my shoulder. But he was walking. I felt his grip tighten ever time he lifted his good leg to take a step forward, and relax when he found that he was still upright.

"Tezumi...I can really do it!"

Excitement. His voice was shaking with excitement.

'Yes," I agreed. "Yes."

Never so transparent, never showing so much emotion. I liked this side of him. I loved hearing the ecstasy in his voice, instead of the usual monotone. Having been around him for so long, I had a general idea of his moods, but it did get tiresome sometimes trying to work out what was going on in his head.

"I can't believe this! I'm walking again! Me!"

I grinned happily back. Like a newborn baby he forged ahead on unsteady feet, one step after another, except this was even more of a miracle. 'The lame can walk', I had read from the Bible. But not passage of writing could quite articulate how amazing that actually was.

"I'll be able to play tennis again! I'll rejoin the team and I'll play again!" Fuji was all but bursting into song.

The joyous melody blasting inside me weakened a slight bit. "Isn't that wonderful?" I hoped my tone still sounded elated.

Yes, he would play tennis again. That would be inevitable once his health improved. And again tennis would dictate his life, as it had before. Would everything just go back to the way they were prior to his accident? I knew Chiko wouldn't, Hitomi wouldn't...and he?

Fuji began to tire on the way back. Leaning more heavily on me for support, he never asked for his crutches back. Who would? He was free of them forever.

"Come on!" I said to him. "Only a few more feet to go."

With my arm entwined with his to hold him steady, he walked the last couple of steps back into his house. Proudly, he retired to his room talking non-stop about the new training program he had come up with for himself.

I listened. I really tried. Because I very much wanted to help him, as much as I could, while I still could.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter Nineteen**_

_**Fuji**_

The old cheering, the old glory. It all came back once I stepped back onto the court. Screaming fans and hollering teammates, it was all just like before.

I let the shouts and yells blow past me like the wind, the crowd no more significant than the morning mist. Immersed in the game, everything else slid from my mind.

The whole thing was a game, and my opponent a rather infuriated playmate. It was exciting, it was fun.

"You were great, Fuji!"

It ended all too soon.

Being clapped on the back and congratulated my various teammates, all I could think of was how I longed for the next match, tired as I was.

"Amazing, Fuji," Oishi said. "It's like you were never gone."

I smiled. _But I have been gone._

Informing the elated captain that I was thirsty, I strode off to the water fountains. Predictably, swarms of fan girls got to me first.

"Fuji!" they yelled, "you were wonderful!" like they had been doing this all their lives.

A polite nod was all they got. None of these shrieking girls wanted to know Fuji Syusuke. All they wanted was to get close to the tennis prodigy who had just won his match. I'd had to break a leg to find that out.

While they continued on with their meaningless screaming, I searched the crowd for the one face I wanted to see but didn't see.  
It was incomprehensible that Tezumi hadn't come to watch my match. Yet it had happened. The cool water I gulped down seemed much less refreshing.

I splashed my face and arms. Forcing my eyes open, I spotted the towel held out to me. My heart leapt. _Tezumi._ It was one of the small details only she noticed. I took it and mopped myself up.

"Thanks," I said, looking up, and was immediately disappointed to see it was Takahashi, not Tezumi, who stood before me. Even stranger, she was alone, when she and Tezumi were normally joined at the hip, and was only around me when Tezumi was there.

"You want Tezumi, don't you?" Takahashi grinned. Another girl who was way too good at reading people's minds. "She said she had to go somewhere and told me to give you that." She gestured towards the towel.

_Go somewhere? Like where?_ But even after a careful search the area remained devoid of any other people. With nothing else to do, we headed back to the courts. I sighed. Everyone was there, everyone, except the person I wanted to see most.

Why hadn't Tezumi stayed to share my victory, as I was bursting to do with her?

Impatiently, I awaited the next school day.

I was up so late the night before wondering about where she had gone, what I should say...well, wondering in general, that I overslept and was nearly late for school. So, no chance of catching her before class. Thus, I had to wait impatiently for Math class to roll around instead.

"Nya, Fuji, what's the hurry? Fuji?" Eiji called after me as I charged out of our Geography class at top speed, determined to take enough time for a decent conversation.

"Tezumi," was my detailed explanation.

I got to class with five minutes to spare. With a to-the-point person like her, it was more than enough.

She was there in the classroom already, of course. Not alone either, Ishizaki was bothering her again. The annoying jerk had been hanging around more than ever lately, despite my various efforts to fend him off, helped by a half hearted Tezumi, who seemed to have gotten much friendlier with him since the camp.

"So, Tezumi, doing anything on Saturday night?" he was babbling.

I refrained from rolling my eyes with difficulty. Didn't he know by now that Tezumi spent almost every Saturday with me and Takahashi? She'd never think of doing something with him, of all people.

"Saturday? Uh...nothing, I think."

_What?_

"So, movies and dinner? That sound ok?"

_Shut up, Ishizaki, you little--_

I chose the shortest possible route to Tezumi's desk, where this delightful conversation was taking place. "Tezumi!"

She looked around. "Oh, Fuji, hi." Not the reaction of someone who had just missed out on her best friend's first match since said best friend recovered from a broken leg. She turned away again. "What were you saying, Ishizaki?"

_WHAT?!_ She couldn't have said that.

But unfortunately she had. "Is dinner and a movie ok with you, Saturday night?"

"Well—"

I had to stop this before she actually agreed to something. _What is she doing? Is she on drugs?_

"Tezumi!" I said loudly, making quite a few people stare. I just let them. "Um, aren't we going somewhere that night? Us and Takahashi, I mean," I pleaded. She couldn't go on a date with Ishizaki. I couldn't articulate what I had against the guy, except that I loathed the very sight of his idiotic grin.

She hesitated. I searched her eyes. They were as soft as they used to be. She wanted to go with Takahashi and me, it was so obvious.

But then, something changed. She squared her shoulders like she was steeling for something. I couldn't catch on, of course. It was as though a dark veil had alighted upon her, deadening all emotion. The activity in her brilliant green eyes shut down completely.

_What's going on?_ 'Emotionless' wasn't a word normally used to describe her. The way she looked now, it was scary, it was unnatural, it looked more like...

For a moment I thought I was looking at myself in the mirror.

I heard her draw a deep breath.

"Dinner and a movie sounds good, Ishizaki."

...what?


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter Twenty**_

_**Fuji**_

Spending a Saturday night on your own is one of the worst things you can do to yourself. I had gotten so used to spending the evening going to the cinema, the tennis courts, a burger joints, wherever, with Tezumi and Takahashi that it almost seemed surreal to be left in the empty house by myself.

There wasn't any point in calling Takahashi. She only came to our weekly nights out because Tezumi was there. The other tennis regulars were undoubtedly involved in their own activities. All this underlined my serious lack of a social life, a thought I normally pushed to some dusty corner of my mind.

I tried playing tennis, I tried reading, I even tried watching television. Nothing worked. I always ended up flopped on my bed feeling depressed.

_Why did she go with Ishizaki anyway? How could she ever like the guy, with me around? Wait. What?_

_You're getting arrogant_, I told myself sternly. _Don't forget that Tezumi isn't your normal girl. She doesn't get blind crushes on random tensais walking around._

I almost wish she did.

Why do I care?

At this, I got up, grabbed my keys and headed out the door. It was a starry, peaceful night, reflecting the exact opposite of what was going on inside me. My wandering feet carried me to the park, a favorite place of both Tezumi and me. Again, it was tantalizingly quiet.

_I wonder how their date's going._

Why do I care?

Because...she's my best friend!

You seem awfully obsessed with your best friend.

Sighing, I leaned against a park bench, resting my head in my hands. There was no point in going through the what-is-this-feeling stage. These always came up to the same conclusion anyway, so why not just skip it and admit straight away that I had fallen—really hard—for this best friend of mine.

I gave the stars a small smile. _Never knew this would happen._

The mystery having finally cleared, my imagination, long restrained, took flight.

_Her date with Ishizaki...could've stopped it..._should've_ stopped it...if I'd asked her out first._

It was almost laughable. I'd spent so many days and evenings together with her, sometimes alone, even. And I'd never taken the hint, never bothered to ask why my pulse fluttered whenever her face came close, or when she grabbed my hand, if only just to drag me off somewhere. 

_Could anyone get any dumber?_

I was so deep in thought that the voices came quite close before I actually noticed them.

"Having a good time, Tezumi? We must do this more often."

Even the sound of his voice caused me to clench my fist.

"I guess..." At least she didn't sound like she was having the time of her life. There was still a chance. For me.

Then it struck me as very odd that Ishizaki would bring Tezumi here, of all the bigger and prettier parks around. _Unless Tezumi brought him here?_

_She took him to our special place_. My newfound optimism half died.

They rounded the corner, but didn't immediately see me.

Through the gloom I saw Ishizaki take Tezumi's hand.

_Don't you dare touch her—_

She flung it away, cheering me up immensely.

"Oh come on, Tezumi, we're on a date." This time he tried to put an arm around her waist.

"Hi," I said casually, stepping out of the shadows. They both jumped, but Ishizaki merely tightened his hold on Tezumi, regardless of her efforts to peel him off.

"Having a nice time?"  
_I hope it was horrible._

"But it's getting kind of late—"  
_Get off her, you incompetent, arrogant, self-centered—_

"—and Tezumi's folks don't like her staying out so late."

_Now leave her alone and never bother her again._

"Oh, I know that." Ishizaki was smirking triumphantly at me. "And I was fulfilling my duty as her _date_ by walking her home, before you popped out of the ground."

_I hate to admit it, but the guy has a point._

"Ok, well, I live in the same neighborhood as Tezumi, so I guess I'll be going the same way." Never mind it being rude to interrupt peoples' dates.

"And you look like you're strangling her, Ishizaki. You know that?" He at least had the sense to stop forcing physical contact with her.

So the three of us ended up walking home together, with me sticking as close as I could to them without wholly intruding on their privacy. Or stepping on the back of their shoes. I was angry, but not in the mood for a fight.

The lovely couple had just begun to bicker when I abruptly stopped in my tracks.

Tezumi turned. "What's up, Fuji?"

I strained my eyes in the darkness. I was sure I had seen—or at least I had heard—

"Nothing. I—umph—"

"Ahh—mph—" 

_Tezumi!_

"Hey! Wha—grph—"

_Ishizaki!_

I tried to call out, but speech was rendered useless as the sack was thrown over my head.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter Twenty One**_

_**Sachie**_

"Help!" I tried to yell, but it came out as a muffled grunt, mainly due to the fact that someone had covered my mouth with some rough, heavy cloth. Not just my mouth, it felt as though my whole head was being tightly wrapped in the fabric.

_What's going on?_

I heard Fuji and Ishizaki struggling alongside me. Had to free myself—had to help—a pair of thick arms pinned my own to my sides. I kicked my leg back in the general direction of my captor. Judging from the scream that erupted into my ear when my heel made contact, it was a man. He dropped me in his pain. Fumbling with the cloth shrouding my vision, I had almost gotten it off when something hard hit the side of my head.

Very dizzy, my head throbbing, I could do nothing more than fight to remain conscious. It was quiet. The others had been subdued. It seemed a lost battle.

"Which one is it?" someone hissed in a rough voice.

"How can I tell in this dim light?" another person snapped back.

"Just take them all before the police come," commanded a third.

The kidnappers threw me bodily onto a cushioned seat. Grunts told me Fuji and Ishizaki had been treated in a similar fashion too. Someone nudged me with his elbow.

_Elbow? Their hands must be tied._

The nudging didn't stop until I forced a moan out of myself. Not at all a difficult thing to do, given all the pain I was in. I felt that person lean against me for a second, as if reassuring me that everything would be fine.

An engine started. We were in a car.

_How can everything be fine? How can anything be fine again, Fuji?_ My courage had long since left me and as brave as he was, my friend had little to spare.

The car trundled on, first on smooth road, then along what felt like a bumpy dirt path. The continuous jolting made my head pulse with agony, blurring my mind.

_Need to...go...get out...escape...where? Home...no...not home...police...police station...got to...head hurts...Fuji...Ishizaki...Fuji Fuji Fuji..._  
I was dimly aware of being lifted out of the car and dumped painfully onto a hard floor. There was a clanging of metal against metal, the slam of a door, then silence.

"Tezumi!"

_Ouch._ Someone was kicking me. Not very heavily, but every movement sent twinges of pain shooting around the region of my brain.

"Tezumi! Please wake up!" _Fuji's voice... Fuji? Yes, Fuji._ My groggy mind registered that much.

I thought I'd gone blind when I first pried my eyes open, and saw only darkness. Then I noticed the moonlight shining through the bars.

The bars?

I willed my shaking arms to half lift myself off the floor. There was cold stone under my fingers. I was in a dark room, with cement walls and an iron door. A little window fitted with metal bars allowed some light to creep in. It was a literal prison cell.

"Tezumi!" Fuji poked me again with his toe.

"What?" I groaned, propping myself up into a sitting position. Both boys had been tied up, their hands behind their backs and backs to the wall in a similar sitting position as the one I was in.

"Oh good, you're awake. It sounds stupid to ask, but are you ok?"

"As ok as a person can be after being hit on the head with a sledgehammer." I crawled a few feet forward and collapsed in the space between the two. The advantage of being injured was that no one bothered to chain you up. You couldn't move around a lot anyway.

"What just happened?" Ishizaki asked in a small voice, still in a state of shock.

"Facts show that we've been kidnapped," I snapped as best as I could.

"Why?" he wondered in a dazed voice. "Your family isn't rich and tennis tensais don't sell for much on the black market, I expect."

"Ishizaki!"

"Don't, Tezumi," Fuji said soothingly. "He isn't in his normal state of mind."

"Fuji." I rolled my eyes. "This guy doesn't _have_ a normal state of mind. But that's beside the point. One of us must be their target, and Ishizaki is right—

for once. Neither of us is worth that much, so that must mean—"

There was a jangling of keys and the metal door was flung open. In came three men. They looked normal enough in polo shirts and baggy pants, not so different from my own father. The only difference was that these guys had snatched us off the streets.

"How could you not even know who we were supposed to take?" the tallest of them growled at the other two.

"We got him anyway." A messily shaved fellow said. He turned to us. "Which of you is the Ishizaki kid?"

Seeing as 'the Ishizaki kid' was still chattering at the teeth, I and Fuji had to point him out.

"So this is the little prince." The man leered evilly and motioned for his companions to take Ishizaki away. The boy followed limply.

"Well, well, well...and what shall I do with the two of you?"

Fighting to keep up a stony glare, I fearfully waited for him to speak, as a convict in court awaits his sentence.

"Killing us won't do you any good," Fuji spoke up in a quiet, unnaturally calm voice.

"Oh, don't worry. I've heard so much about you, Fuji Syusuke. Hyuuga's daughter adores you. It would be unkind to kill her idol."

I breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"As for you..." the man turned to me with a perverted grin. "You're too pretty to kill just yet."

For a split second, I could swear I saw his eyes flash red.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter Twenty Two**_

_**Fuji**_

That feeling rose within me again. The overpowering emotion I experienced when I heard how Mizuki had harmed Yuuta. I was tightly tied, there was nothing I could do, but I still felt it.

Fury.

_You'd better not hurt her._

My eyes followed the man's every move as he advanced on Tezumi. She pressed herself against me, shaking violently, but kept a steady gaze of defiance on his face.

"Hey there, sweetie." He tilted her chin up to him.

"Whoa!"

She had snapped at his fingers with her teeth.

_Don't you dare touch her._ _These ropes—ugh—these stupid,_ stupid _ropes_—I strained against my bonds.

"Now, be nice..." he said, reprimanding her mockingly. Squatting down, he reached for the collar of her shirt.

"Arg!" The man sprang up and backed away, clutching his face. Tezumi wiped the blood off the bottom of her shoe.

_Since when has she been able to kick like that?_

"Why you little b—" Charging back up to us, the irate guy drew a short, thick stick from his pocket.

"Tezumi, look out—"

But the sudden jerking movement had somehow caused her wound to open up again. Blood flowed freely from her head. She pressed both her hands to it in obvious pain, unable to deal with anything else.

The man raised his weapon. "This'll teach you to attack me—" He brought the stick down upon her.

"Ah!" I gasped softly, feeling the thick rod on the side of my neck. With a burst of energy I had shoved myself to the right, blocking the blow as it descended on Tezumi's face.

Her eyes, originally screwed up, flew open and flashed a dangerous green as she reared back and kicked out again. This time, there was a sickening crack.

The man gave a scream, shot one last venomous look at Tezumi and backed out of the room almost in tears.

"Fuji! Are you ok? Where did he hit you?" She seemed close to crying too as she felt the smarting bruise on my neck.

"Yeah, I'm fine...just keep your hand there, yeah that's it." Her ice cold hands helped numb my senses. "Tezumi, your wound is still bleeding."

Wiping the blood away impatiently, she helped move me back into a sitting position.

"I shouldn't have kicked him like that," she said, worriedly peering at the patch of purple on my skin. "I didn't know this would happen."

"And just let him hurt you?" I had to laugh. "No thanks, I'd rather have the bruise."

As long as it brought us closer, as long as it made her show—even if it was just pretend—that she still cared, they could've broken my leg again and personally I wouldn't have cared. Not as much as the first time it happened, anyway.

"It won't be long before someone notices we're gone," Tezumi was assuring me. "I told my parents I'd be back my ten and it's past eleven now. Plus, they know it's Ishizaki I'm going out with, so...um..." Her voice trailed away, sounding flustered and embarrassed.

"Which was just really bad luck, since we're here because of him," I said bitterly.

"Well, how was I supposed to know a couple of maniac kidnappers were after him?" she sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"That's the problem of having a rich boyfriend. You never know when you might be dragged off and beat up by people who only wanted him in the first place."

Tezumi gave me an alarmed look. It was probably the closest thing to an accusation that I had ever made against her. 

"Look, Fuji," she said slowly. "I know you hate to be in this position and I'm sorry. But I really, _really_ didn't know this would happen."

"You're the one who agreed to go out with him, and that's why we're here," I half snapped.

"Fuji!" she cried, shocked. I didn't blame her. I do admit I sounded uncharacteristically irrational. She opened her mouth to say something more, but seemed to think better of it, and remained silent. "What good would it do?" I heard her mutter.

And so silence reigned in our cage of stone as the minutes trickled away. We were both tired, but neither of us could sleep. I had too much to think about.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tezumi staring out the open window.

_I wonder what she's thinking._

The night grew colder. As dawn approached, our breath rose like mist in front of out faces. The thin jacket I had on offered no protection against the chilly air, and the dress Tezumi as wearing couldn't have made her much warmer either. Naturally, I snuggled up to her.

Picking herself up, Tezumi moved to the other side of the room, as far away as she could get.

_Wha—Tezumi—?_ I didn't know whether I should stay angry or just be sad.

_Ah well, people normally do get a little pissed when you insult them and their boyfriends._

Annoyance melted into depression. 'Depression' being the understatement of the century.

_Case confirmed. She really does like him._


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter Twenty Three**_

_**Sachie**_**  
**

_What's gotten into him? _The moment you think you've got Fuji figured out, he does something to completely blow our theory.

As stupid as it was not to stay close to him, at least for the sake of maintaining a non-life threatening body temperature, my pride told me to stay away.

I couldn't understand. I'd known for a long time that Ishizaki and Fuji didn't get along—they all but threw daggers whenever they met—and I wasn't too crazy about my date either, but there was no reason for Fuji to really _hate_ the guy. Whatever this tensai said, there was absolutely no way anyone blame Ishizaki for landing us in the current situation. Was there?

But then, it was hard to think straight when my head felt like it was about to burst open, so maybe there was something I'd overlooked. Plus, I'd actually said yes to Ishizakis proposal of a date, and that was while I was still woundless, thus it could be derived that my judgment wasn't always the best.

And I hadn't even done it to make Fuji jealous, like any other normal girl.

_Wait. Make Fuji jealous?_

Could that be why he was acting so unnaturally...erm, un-Fuji-ish? Jealousy? Was it possible that while I had accepted Ishizaki's offer to dinner in a vain attempt to make myself forget about the fact that the new, recovered Fuji wouldn't need me anymore, Fuji had finally started to like me back? Hey, it was possible; he had taken a whack to the neck for me after all.

_Stop it! That's how you nearly ended up confessing to him, back when he still couldn't remember your name.  
_But he remembers it now, and he really did look furious when he tried to stop Ishizaki from grabbing my waist.  
_  
He just doesn't approve of public displays of affection._

Yeah, when they're not directed at him—

I slapped myself on both cheeks at this. Not mentally. Fuji witnessed this sudden burst of violence and got seriously freaked out.

_Great. Now he thinks I've lost my mind._

Sighing inwardly, I reflected on how much better off the world would be without first crushes. They were the ones you never quite got over. 

Dawn was approaching. First purple, then pink and finally a brilliant gold streaked the small patch of sky I could see outside the tiny window.

_What will happen to us now? _I asked the rising sun.

Gradually the world awoke, but instead of the chattering of birds, shouts, panicked voices echoed into our prison cell.

"If I ever find out who that rat it, I'll—"

Bang! The door flew open and the men from the night before, minus the guy whose facial features I had permanently disfigured, stormed in.

What I pretended to still be a little dizzy, not having any intention of being tied up. The knots on Fuji looked very tight.

"Get up!" one of them snapped, the one with a small scar on his chin.

Leaning against the wall, I made as big a show as I could, painstakingly pushing myself upright. Fuji was dragged to his feet.

"We're moving you," another man in a baseball cap growled. "Some idiot told the cops were here," he kindly explained.

_I wonder how that happened._

My act paid off and I remained free of ropes as we were marched out of the house, rejoining Ishizaki.

_Why is it that everything bad seems to happen on a mountain?_ Our surroundings were not unlike that of the training camp, except there wasn't a sea view from the tennis courts.

"Now move, and no funny business from any of you!"

We were hurried down a narrow path littered with pebbles. It was very awkward, walking along such a road in a dress, even with shorts underneath it. The rod I had in my pocket didn't make things better. The stick which the man who had hit Fuji had dropped, I mean. I had to keep covering it with my hand to stop anyone noticing the bulge.

Concentrating hard on not twisting my ankle on the small stones, it seemed that no time at all had passed when the ground leveled out and we were making our way over a sandy beach.

Forced aboard a rowboat, I glanced despairingly back at the shrinking beach, willing policemen to miraculously appear on it.

Surprise, surprise, none did.

The ship that we were brought to was bigger than the one which had taken us to the island for the camp. I liked that one better. This was a ship that could store enough fuel to take us clean out of Japan. In that case we would be positively impossible to find.

The people who ran the steamer seemed to be friends with our kidnappers. If they weren't, you'd think they'd be shocked to see Fuji and Ishizaki tied from the waist up. But they just called out greetings and went on their way.

We were taken below the deck.

"No—couldn't you put us all together?" Fuji protested. I had been pushed into a new prison cell—I am not kidding, there were bars where a wall should have been—while the two boys were shoved on.

"Is this necessary, Shimoda?" The man in the cap asked, looking uncertainly at me.

_At least this guy has a conscience._

_Please,_ I pleaded silently, _don't separate us!_ I wasn't too happy with either boy, but as opposed to being locked up by myself, their presence was preferable.

"Yes, it is necessary," the guy with the broken nose snapped back.

_I knew it, I knew I shouldn't have kicked him._

"It's easier to deal with these kids with them apart." He pointed to Fuji and myself.  
"We're tied up, for goodness sake—"

Slam! The gate to the room was closed and locked; leaving me sprawled in the middle of it.

A moment later I was alone, sitting in that dark, damp cell...


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter Twenty Four**_

_**Sachie**_

_I wish Hitomi were here._

Oh—wait, no, I don't!

I was beginning to think that the seclusion really had driven me round the bend. It had been hours—or so it seemed—since our captors had locked me behind bars. Literally. There wasn't even a porthole I could look through. The only source of light was a lamp or something around the corner. Other than that, the hallway I faced was completely dark.

Loneliness had caused my previous irritation to evaporate. It's interesting how your thoughts can take a 180 degree turn once you've been alone for long enough.

Crouching in the gloomiest corner, I hugged my knees to my chest. With eyes closed, I pretended that it was Fuji I was clinging to, Fuji who was there beside me, always ready to protect me from kidnappers who wanted to crack my head open.

It made me smile just thinking about it.

It seemed that the best place to spend time with him was inside my own head. There, I didn't have to pretend not to care that he had started to sit away from Hitomi and me during lunches. There, my feelings for him didn't have to be one sided. 

_Gosh, I've fallen for him so hard._ And drowsing off, I could almost believe that he really was there, that I was safe, and would be laughing away the afternoons with him and Hitomi before long. Not that it was actually possible, with him going off with the other boy regulars after more and more practices, but I could still dream, couldn't I?

I discovered that concrete walls made very bad pillows. When I awoke from my—given the circumstances--peaceful nap, my headache was back with reinforcements. Like a stinging nose.

_When since did stinging noses come with headaches? _Sitting up properly, I sniffed the air cautiously. Something was wrong, even more wrong than things had been anyway. Every breath caused my lungs to burn slightly, choking me. Mist seeped in to envelope me. Only it wasn't mist at all.  
_Smoke!_ Leaping to my feet, I ran to the bars, feeling the temperature of the room rise. Footsteps thundered above me, screams and yells filled my ears.

"Fire!" they were shrieking. "Fire!"

The bars I was clutching were warming. A quick glace told me that they were rusty and very old, spaced far enough apart for me to almost slip through. It was the only way out.

I tore off my dress, thankful for the T-shirt and shorts I had thought to put on. Ripping the hem, I reduced it to a long strip of material. _Whoever told me wet clothe won't break had better be right.  
_  
_But there's no water!_ I looked wildly around the room, searching franticly for the liquid which I never found. Without it, I was trapped.

What would you have done, if you were me? You don't even need to have experience in fighting for your life to answer that one. Me? I did the first thing I could think of. Shaking hands reached up and scratched at my half healed wound. Unwillingly—and yet I knew I must—I made the hot blood flow again, pressing my torn up dress against it until the clothe was stained red.

_If this doesn't work, I'll kill myself before the fire gets here._ Wincing at the redoubled pain, I wound the crimson strip around two of the bars, taking out the stout stick I had saved from earlier.

_I knew this would come in handy._ Sticking it in between the bound bars, I used it to twist the clothe strip, using both hands and all the strength I could muster to draw the loop it made even tighter.

"Ugh!" I grunted, just as the bars gave a welcome creak. _Thank heaven they're thin._ Muscles screaming, I bullied my arms into turning the stick once more, ignoring the blood dripping onto my shoes and legs.

_The next turn,_ I told myself, feeling my muscles start to tear._ The next one...just the one more time..._

Scree...

_Oh my gosh. I've just bent metal._

But there was no time to celebrate. The bars were growing hotter. Using the last of my energy to hold the stick in position, I slipped out of my cage, feeling the heat of the metal through my thin shirt. The newly inflicted scratches stung a little, but at least I was out. 

"Get onto the lifeboats!" someone shouted from afar, drawing me to him like a magnet. Except I had to resist the urge, master the impulse to escape onto the deck, had to go down the corridor as fast as I could. Had to find Fuji.

"Help! Someone let us out!" I deciphered the plea for rescue through the rest of the confused yelling.

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Here!" came the faint reply. "I'm here! We're here!"

_I'm coming, Fuji. Hold on, I'm coming_...Urging my feet to fly, I sprinted towards his voice. _Where are you, Fuji? Tell me where..._

There it was! The first closed door among all the other ones that stood ajar. It had to be the one. The pounding of fists on the wood proved it.

Eyes wide with anxiety scanned the hallway. _How convenient. An ax._

Grabbing the handle, I raised it high. "Stand back!"

Crash! For someone who had never used an ax before, chopping the doorknob off was a really good start. Crash! Crack! Crash! Again and again I struck the lock of the heavy door, swing the sharp blade like my life depended on it. No, like something even more important did. 

Creak...At last.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter Twenty Five**_

_**Sachie**__**  
**_

"Hurry up, will you?" I snapped, snatching up a piece of glass to help Ishizaki hack at the rope that bound his ankles.

"D—don't yell at me!" He stammered a retort. "We—we're l—lucky someone broke the b—bottle in here..." Boy, the guy was really scared.

"You're lucky, you mean," I said in retaliation. "If I'd found you still tied up from head to toe, I'd have taken Fuji and _left_ you here."

A shaky laugh escaped his lips. "Like you're the kind of person who would leave her date to die."

I said nothing, severing the last threads of the thick rope. _As much as I dislike you, I hate the idea of becoming a killer even more. _  
"Try to stand," Fuji urged Ishizaki, grabbing his arms. Together we heaved the trembling boy to his feet.

"Whoa!" His footing wavered. "Is it just me or is the ground tilted?"

"I just heard the boat's on fire. No one said anything about—"

A tinkling of glass sliding across the floor interrupted me. The three of us followed the progress of the pieces, eyes growing ever wider in terror. The intense heat all around us hit me with full force. 

"We're sinking."

There was a loud cracking of splintering wood as we scrambled out the doorway, racing along the corridor I had come from. Only...

"Does anyone remember how we got down here?" Fuji panted when we hit a dead end. We looked at each other.

_Just when you think things are going your way, another crisis comes to mess things up._ "Keep going up. We have a chance if we can get above the deck," I barked before taking off again. Once more our pounding footsteps rang in the narrow hallways._ A way up, a way up, we need to find a way up..._

"There!" Fuji said tensely.

I squinted through the smoke that was now rapidly filling the ship. _This thing must be really old._

Rushing forward, we inspected the rough wooden ladder leading to a platform way above our heads. Backed against the wall, I thought I could see pale sunlight glowing somewhere beyond the edge.

"Come on, let's go up this—"

Crash! Ishizaki leapt back with a yell. My horrified eyes alighted on the pile of wood which now lay cracked and useless at our feet, the remains of our escape route.

_What_ century _does this ship come from? Since when were the ladders so flimsy?_

"Ok, um..." I tried to make my brain, sluggish from the heat, function. Surely there was another way out? But there was no time...the oxygen content in the air was insufficient for any more running, I was sure.

"Uh...Fuji," I started, kneeling at the base of the ruined ladder. "I'll give you a boost and you can swing yourself up. You're the strongest; you can help pull the rest of us..."

"No, come on, Tezumi, I'll give _you_ a boost up--"

"Just do it!" I snarled. "You're wasting time!"

Luckily, Fuji had learned to follow instructions when I used that tone. Backing against the wall, he sprinted towards me and leapt into the air using my cupped hands as a trampoline. My worn muscles contracted, giving him a huge shove so that he was able to plan both hands onto the platform. His momentum carried him further, allowing him to swing one leg onto the concrete floor and roll out of sight.

"Fuji?" I called. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah." There was a pause. "I'm pretty sure it's a way out, Tezumi—whoa!"

Ishizaki and I were thrown backwards when the ship gave a sudden lurch, and the whole floor tilted all the more to one side.

Fuji poked his head out from the edge of the platform. "Hurry!"

"Ok. I'll help Ishizaki up. Grab his arms and help pull—"

"Tezumi—"

"Ishizaki? Come on, jump!"

The shaking boy repeated Fuji's leap, but only managed to hang on to the platform with his fingertips. I moved out of the way to prevent myself from being knocked out by his flailing legs. "Fuji! Pull him up!"

With our combined efforts, we heaved and tugged until Ishizaki too had tumbled to relative safety.

Once again Fuji peered down at me. "I'll come down and help you."

"No!" I snapped before he could jump. "There's another way out. I just noticed it. See that door over there?" I pointed to a place to my right. "There's a sign saying that it leads to a stairway. I'm sure I can get onto the deck that way."

"Then I'll come with you—"

"No!" I yelled in frustration. "Just go! This way is bound to take much longer. Can you see sunlight up there?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then you're above sea level and much safer. Take Ishizaki and find yourselves a lifeboat. Take care of him for me and I'll meet you two on the shore."

For a moment I was afraid he wouldn't give in. "All right," he said as the ship gave another violent jerk. "But you'd better be there." 

"I will, now get out of here!"

He disappeared over the edge. I stood there in the dark, rooted to the spot as I listened to their receding footsteps.

I don't know why I did it. It was just that...at that time, it seemed like the right thing to do.

All was silent. A chill swept through me, sending a shiver down my spine. The freezing water that had just begun to swish around my ankles was only part of the reason.

I listened to the steady dripping of water entering into the ship, every drop bring me closer to my almost certain fate.

The darkness scared me, but I was thankful for it. If there had been just a little more light, Fuji might have been able to read the plaque on the door I had pointed out as an exit.

The plaque which I knew was engraved with the words "Broom Cupboard".


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter Twenty Six**_

_**F**__**uji**_

We had to keep on running.

The sunlight we had seen down below the platform hadn't been coming from a trapdoor or something similar. True, it came from the next best thing, which was a window, but this particular opening wasn't large enough for me or Ishizaki to fit through, even if we had broke the glass. And so we had to keep running.  
Jogging was normally a very relaxing exercise for me, except when Inui threatened the team with his Inui Juice. Then it became even more fun and exciting, as all games with a reward at the end, only for this game the reward was given to the losers. I've always wondered why. But anyway, as I was saying. Jogging was normally something I really like to do. It gave me time to think, since you don't really have to concentrate on anything in particular. Of course, running to escape a sinking ship was slightly different, but my brain took the pounding of my feet as its cue to wander around anyway.  
_Should I be mad at her, or love her all the more?_

Question one. Obviously, Tezumi was risking her own life for Ishizaki. She'd told me to take care of him, hadn't she? And why that should make me mad is kind of plain. She'd sent me up onto the platform first, knowing that Ishizaki would need help getting up. It was one of those times that I actually envied the little creep.

On the other hand...well, I'll still say that she risked her life to save my rival, but then had she saved me too, in the process. That is, if we ever got out of this ship and into a lifeboat. But she'd done what she could. She'd given up every chance she could of survival to someone that, I was certain now, she loved.

Why didn't I do the same? I want no one to misunderstand that I didn't want to. Because I did. But it had been pretty obvious, from the way she had screamed at me to go, that it wasn't what she had wanted. And so I was now trying my best to protect this guy which I had hated and hated all the more every minute. It wasn't a nice feeling, knowing that it was the only think I could do to please Tezumi.

Question two was a more immediate problem.

_How are we going to get out?_

Go up, Tezumi had said. It made sense. If we could reach the deck, great. If we went higher than that, we could just jump.

I led Ishizaki through the various winding corridors and doors which I hoped led to stairways. In most cases we just ended up in people's cabins. The smoke had fused along the path we were taking already. We were both sweating profusely from the heat and anxiety.  
_We might've done better to go Tezumi's way. At least she's bound to get there eventually._

"Oh!" Ishizaki gasped.

I spun around. "What?"

"A drop of water fell onto the top of my head!"

This seemed a very trivial thing to be yelling about, but was I ever glad that he had sensitive skin. Backtracking to the place Ishizaki was standing, I looked up and sure enough, drops of water were dripping down from a round iron plate. An iron plate which glowed at the edges.

"Ishizaki! Help me with this table." I had got a hold of an iron desk in one of the rooms and with his help, dragged it under our passageway out. Clambering onto it, I shoved hard at the cold iron. It gave way easily, and I shifted it aside, allowing the sunlight to stream through.

_Yes!_

"Pull yourself up! I'll try to help..." Again there was a confused scramble as I pushed Ishizaki up onto the deck, and then swung myself after him.

People were running anywhere and everywhere they could, it seemed. No one noticed that two boys had just appeared by their feet. Thick black smoke was billowing from one end of the ship, which was the side we were sliding over to, as the vessel tipped over slightly more.

"Lifeboat!" Ishizaki choked out, his voice cracking in relief. Over to the side a couple of men were trying to cut through a rope which bound one of the little lifeboats. Their blunt knives weren't making much progress. Taking out a particularly sharp piece of glass that I'd saved from earlier, I rushed over and severed the cord with a few sharp swipes.

"Thanks!" one of them shouted, rapidly lowering the boat into the ocean below. I recognized one of our kidnappers. The one in the baseball cap. He, however, didn't seem at all worried to see us out of our room and on the deck, and simply yelled at us to help with the boat.  
No one objected either, when we hopped into the lifeboat after the men. Soon, we were ready to cast off.

"Hey!" our kidnapper suddenly said. "There should be three of you. Where's the girl?"

I explained about the platform and how Tezumi had chosen to go another way.

"Then that's one stupid girl you're talking about there," one of the other sailors remarked. "I know that platform. The room next to it is a broom cupboard."

"WHAT?!" _Oh no...TEZUMI!_ I reached to scramble back up the rope we had just come down. Strong arms wrapped around my chest, holding me back.

"It's no good, kid! The place your girlfriend's in is already underwater, see?" The guy with the cap pointed to some point near the smoldering end of the ship.

"THAT DOESNT MEAN SHE'S—SHE'S—" I struggled against his grasp with all the energy in my body. Had to go back, had to find her, had to get her out before the water...

"Cast off!"

"NO!" I freed myself with one huge wrench of my arms, but we had already drifted away from the ship. "LET ME GO BACK!" I was about to jump back into the water when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't," a sobbing Ishizaki pleaded. "Tezumi...Tezumi wouldn't have wanted..."

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me about Tezumi!" I snarled at him, snatching him up by the front of his shirt. "If you actually cared about her, you'd be swimming back there with me!" I made one last attempt to dive off the lifeboat, but was thrown back by two of the men. I watched, helpless, as we moved farther and farther away from the sinking ship.

And from Tezumi.

"The boy's right," one of them said. "Your friend died to save you. She wouldn't want you to gamble your life for her dead body."

_And now, thanks to you...thanks to you all...I will never know what she wanted..._

I sat at the back of the boat, side by side with Ishizaki, the only person who could understand a fraction of what I was feeling. My hair shielded my eyes like a curtain, to hide the tears that never came. 

_I wish it were me, Tezumi...I wish it had been me..._

You said you'd meet us on the shore...

Why did you lie to me, Tezumi? Why did you lie?


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter Twenty Seven**_**  
**_**Sachie**_

The water rushed up at me.

White and churning, it came up and up and up...

I was the only one left on the deck. Miniature lifeboats floated away into the distance. Hopefully, Fuji and Ishizaki would be on one of them.

The ship had almost gone vertical, with me hanging onto the railings to prevent myself from falling into the water.

However, me being on a sinking ship, getting a little wet was inevitable. Up came the frothy waves. 

"Ah!" I gasped, feeling the cold fingers of the icy sea water wrap themselves around me.

If I could just stay afloat...I was overcome by a violent fit of coughing, due to the large amount of salty water which I had just swallowed.

The ship evidently didn't want to sink, ensnaring me in a mass of watery ropes which pulled me under in its vain struggle to remain on the surface.

I kicked out as hard as I could, battling its grasp like there was no tomorrow. If I stopped, there certainly wouldn't be.

Still I was drawn deeper and deeper into the depths of the sea. The movement of my legs slowed to a stop. My lungs burned for oxygen, with me powerless to give it any.

I could see the sun shining above my head. It appeared to be setting unusually quickly. Or at least, I saw it grow dimmer.

There was no more energy in my body, no more strength to fight, even to save my own life. I was going to die.

_Why did you do it? _A voice asked me. _Why did you not let one of the boys help you escape?_

All alone, never to be found again...I was going to die.

_Because, _I told it,_ I'd never be able to live with myself, if one of them gave their life to save me. _

I was going to die. Already my eyesight was fading. They say that before you pass away, your whole life flashes before you. One single image surfaced in my mind.

It was late afternoon. We were in the park. Hitomi, Fuji and me, sprawled on the grass. I could hear them laughing. I could see the blue sky, so like the one that was glowing above me now.

I was never going to see them again...

_NO!_

I know not by what power, but by some power it was, my arms and legs started moving again, starting a fresh war against the pull of the doomed ship.

My whole body was hurting, my limbs stiff with the cold. Oxygen. I needed oxygen. Agony enveloped me as I struggled with all my might, to reach that bright blue sky which was coming closer. Slowly, but definitely closer.

_Why are you doing this?_ The little voice asked me again. _Why go through all this pain when you could just drift away and never have to feel pain again?_

_I told Fuji...I told him,_ I said to the voice, pushing it away,_ I told him...I would meet him...on the shore...and I...I would never...I would never LIE!_

"Ah!" With a final kick, I surged up above the water, gulping in my long awaited breath as the foam exploded around me. The sunlight licked my pale white skin, doing its best to defrost me._ Welcome, _it seemed to say. _Welcome back._

A nudge in the back alerted me to the presence of a wooden crate which was floating behind me. I clambered onto it, heaving my upper body onto the soaking wood. Gasping and sputtering, I didn't move a muscle for a long time.

It was already twilight when I finally stirred my aching limbs. At first, there seemed to be no land in sight, but on careful inspection, I could see a speck of black in the middle of the blood red sun. Fuji and Ishizaki should have found out about the broom cupboard trick I had pulled on them by now, and thus think me dead. Of course, I knew otherwise, but that didn't mean I could summon a rescue team with no help whatsoever.

And so I swam towards the west, hanging on to the wooden crate and flopping onto it when I was tired. The sky gradually turned dark and the stars came out. I fixed my eyes on one particular star that was a rough guide to where I wanted to go. I never stopped staring at it, even for a second, as though I would lose it if I did.

True, I was tired, but a crate in the middle of the ocean made a very uncomfortable bed, so it wasn't like I could get some sleep, even if I tried. I swam until I was so worn out, I could barely move. Then I contented in making sure that I at least didn't go off course.

I couldn't see much at night, try as I did to strain my eyes and penetrate the darkness. Impatiently, I awaited the dawn, which brought the reward of seeing that the speck I had spied the night before was now much closer, and yes, it was land.

It took me the better part of that day to reach the sandy beach—even with the help of the current, which speeded up my trip considerably—which I collapsed on at once, all but kissing the ground in my delight to be half out of danger at last.

Again the sun set, leaving me with no choice but to crawl out of the water and curl up on one of the bigger rocks along the coast, and drift off into my dreams for the first time in over twenty four hours.

_I've come back, Fuji,_ I silently said to him before sleep took over.

_I've come back, just like I said I would._


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter Twenty Eight  
**__**Fuji**_

I was finally back home, but I couldn't stay there for long.

If I walked along the coast, I reasoned, maybe I could find Tezumi. I wasn't saying that I would find her alive, but I knew that if she could choose who brought her back and laid her to rest, whether it be in her own bed at home or in a grave, she would want that person to be me.

Sure, I wasn't the one she gave her life for, but I had been the one to find her, that time she fell down a cliff, hadn't I? Not Ishizaki. I had been the one to bring her back. Besides, Ishizaki was too worn out after the ordeal to go anywhere, and I certainly wasn't going to wait for him to rest up before starting the search.

My family wasn't about to let me go out any time soon, though.

"You've just been kidnapped and nearly drowned! Don't you think you should stay at home for just a few more days?" my mother would exclaim every time I asked. She just wouldn't understand about Tezumi. Like all the other people I talked to, she thought that the girl hadn't made it.

Takahashi came to visit me, the day I returned home, red eyed and very distraught. 

"It's just so hard to believe that we'll never play doubles together again," she said with a shaky laugh.

"You might, I insisted. We don't know if she's...well, if she's still alive, but then we don't know if she's gone either. If we just looked hard enough..."

"Fuji," she said gently, placing a comforting hand on my arm. "I know it's hard. I was close to her too. But you should know Tezumi as well as I do, if not better, and so you've got to understand that she's not someone to act without thinking. She knew what she was doing, and she knew the consequences, when she told you to go."

"Yeah, and now that the dangers over, the person she died to save won't even try to find her, or even consider the possibility of her being alive," I grumbled bitterly.  
I almost didn't catch the strange look Takahashi gave me. But I thought nothing of it anyway.

It might have just been me unable to deal with the loss, but for whatever reasons, I was thoroughly convinced that I would see Tezumi again, and it was that conviction that brought me out of my bedroom once everyone else had fallen asleep.

After checking up on the location of the sunken ship and the currents that day, I'd had a pretty good idea of where I should begin looking. If, of course, Tezumi really had floated back to Japan. There wasn't too much I could do if she'd drifted off to China, but I tried not to think about that. Packing some food and medical supplies in my bag, I waited till the house was quiet before leaving my note and slipping out of the door.

Just in time to catch the last bus to the coast, I filled up my flashlight with new batteries.

Ignoring the questioning looks of the driver; I got off at the beach and checked my map. I switched on my light and began the search.

Anyone else would have said that I was crazy. Even I acknowledged that the chances of me ever finding her were very small. But on I went. If anyone could have survived a situation like the one she'd been in, it was Tezumi.

She'd taught me not to give in to a broken leg, after all, so why was it not possible that she herself could defeat death?

That kind of reasoning wasn't going to convince anyone, but how would I ever be able to sleep soundly again, knowing that I'd given up this last chance to see her again? And so on I went.

The coastline was littered with large stone and boulders which I constantly had to climb over as I picked my way across the sand. My progress was excruciatingly slow, with me checking every possible corner before moving on to another patch of the beach.

One hour, two hours, the minutes ticked by as I repeated my now much practiced drill.

_You said you'd meet me on the shore. _

She'd never lied to me before. Why should this time be any different?

The moon came out to assist me in my mission impossible. So did the stars. The brightest of them all was this big one that rested in the East, roughly in the direction where I was headed. I followed that star. No matter how long I walked, it still stayed so very far away.

_I should have told her while I had the chance. _

When we'd parted, Tezumi and I had technically been having a fight.

_If she's really gone, and I never told her..._

I hadn't even said a proper good bye.

_She still doesn't know. _

And that's why I had to go on. I didn't care whether she felt the same way or not, but I knew that if I kept it a secret, it would be the biggest regret of my life.

The more I thought that way, the more convinced I became that she was alive.

The starlight shimmered on the black ocean, reminding me of that night when I'd found Tezumi unconscious by the river. The stretch of sand before me was the very likeness of the bank I'd seen her on too. My eyes swept the scene like they had back then, except this time I found nothing. 

I let the hours slide by until they progressed onto the coldest part of the night. Wrapping my coat tightly around myself, I clambered over yet another rock, hoping to see Tezumi waiting for me on the other side. Nothing.

Dawn. Some see the rising sun as a symbol of hope. It was even put on our national flag. I saw it as a reminder that my fruitless search through the night had yielded no results.

The sun rose up, setting the clouds on fire. Its rays shone brightly onto the beach, onto the sea, onto the sand, the rocks, and...


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter Twenty Nine**__**  
**__**Sachie**_

I don't know which woke me up, the harsh sunlight that insisted on getting into my eyes, or the freezing wind that consistently stung my cheeks.

Whatever the reason, I lifted my stiff body from the rock I'd been sleeping on, not for a moment forgetting why I had spent the night on that particular boulder instead of a bed like a normal person. It's kind of hard to forget about things like that, especially when you were having the most horrible nightmares about it just half a minute ago.

I was just debating whether to get up and begin my journey—length unknown—back to civilization, when I heard a loud crunching of sand and the scrabbling of falling pebbles.

I considered jumping back into the water to escape, if the wild beast proved to be hostile, but decided that I'd much rather be eaten. Having swum a continuous marathon for a day and a night, I was destined never to go near a swimming pool again, never mind the ocean.

A flash of brown rose above the rocks edge, and as expected I was instantly pounced on and knocked backwards. Strands of chocolate colored fur obscured my vision and the screams that issued from my mouth were blocked by a soft coat.

_Since when did you lions and tigers and bears around here start wearing coats?_

Plus, the position it was in would be awkward for any animal, with its head ticked beside mine and both paws wound around my neck.

Then, it spoke.

"Tezumi...Tezumi...I knew you were still alive..."

"I've known that too for quite a while." I snuggled closer against Fuji, relishing the feeling of heat draining out of his body into mine.

He held on like he never wanted to let go. I understood. I clung to him in the same way.

How could I ever have thought that Fuji would forget all about me once he got his fame back? Even the concept of that idea seemed impossible, with him burying his nose in my hair.

"Ishizaki's fine." Fuji had to ruin the moment. "He's really tired, but fine."

"Whatever." I tightened my grip on him.

"Tezumi!" He drew away, looking and sounding unusually shocked. "How can you be like that about your own boyfriend? You risked your life to save him, after all!"

"What?" I fully appreciated how hard it was to understand anything that went on in the tensai's mind.

"You even assigned me as his bodyguard, remember?" For some incomprehensible reason, his smile bore a hint of sadness.

"Of course. I gave you something to take care of so that you could focus on getting yourself out alive, not worrying about how I was doing."_ Um, isn't that kind of obvious?_

From the mingled expression of joy and disbelief on his face, I gathered that it wasn't.

"So—so—everything you did was to..."

I took a deep breath. "It was to save you, yes."

"But Ishizaki—"

"Oh for heaven's sake!" I threw my arms up in exasperation. "Why do you keep going on about him? I thought you two hated each other! Why are you suddenly so concerned about him?"

"Because you...you love him."

_I rest my case. This guy has neither a normal nor functioning brain. _"Fuji," I giggled at the whole absurd idea of me being in love with Ishizaki. "It was you I was trying to save, wasn't it?"

"Me?"

I couldn't see any difficulty whatsoever for him to believe me, but apparently he did.

"Me, and not Ishizaki?"

There was something wrong with his tone. I stopped chortling. He was staring at me as though he had never seen anything quite like me before.  
_Hello? I'm just a girl drenched in sea water, not a Martian._

"Of course you, Fuji." I looked uncertainly at him.

"Mph!" Again I was thrown backwards as Fuji flung himself onto me, squeezing me so hard that I felt I would burst. "Fuji—can't breathe—"

_What's up with him now?_ It was deliciously warm and all with him lying half on top of me, but it would be a very embarrassing position to be found in. If he was simply glad to see me, this was a very much delayed reaction.

Our previous conversation replayed in my mind.

_"Because you...you love him."_

"It was you I was trying to save, wasn't it?"

"Me? Me, and not Ishizaki?"

"Of course you, Fuji."

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. It had slipped out, without me even knowing it. _What did I just do?!_

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I had even uttered one word, Fuji had pressed his mouth to my ear and whispered something.

My eyes grew wide.

_I did not hear that._

As though he had read my mind, his breath tickled my skin as he repeated his words.

_So this is what it feels like to have a dream come true._

I hugged him back with the whole of my strength.

His soft cheek was sliding against mine, and though I myself had no idea what was going on, my body seemed to understand, and closed my eyes on their own.

His hair caressed my face...

Our lips met.


	30. Chapter 30 End

_**Chapter Thirty  
**__**Sachie**_

"Nya, why aren't you two holding hands?" Eiji shouted out at Fuji and I without even a pre-teasing hello, when we slid open the door to Kawamura's sushi bar.

"Saa, I told her that would be pleasant, but she wouldn't let me." Fuji was smiling, as usual, unfazed by anything under the sun and certainly not Eiji's mindless comments.

Eiji turned on me. "That's so mean! He's your boyfriend! How can you not let—"

"Let him hold my hand? Which hand do you mean? The one I hold my books with or the one holding my bag for tennis rackets? Or are you suggesting I balance either on my head?"

"Then let him carry—"

"Yes, let him carry the stuff with his other hand that is not holding mine, which is already full up with his books and stuff. He doesn't have three arms any more than the rest of us do, Eiji."  
That shut him up. For the time being. I thanked my stars that Eiji had never been very thorough with thinking things through. If he had, he'd have suggested me putting the books into the bag and freeing one hand. 

You'd think I wouldn't be embarrassed about physical contact with Fuji, not after that awkward position we'd been in on the beach just a month or so ago. But just because we were a couple didn't mean that we had to act all romantic _every minute of the day._ And it had taken me a while to get used to the idea of him being my boyfriend, after just being friends for so long.

Fuji pulled me down next to him a table. I had long since trained him not to put his arm around me at every chance he got—it was just too hot for that in the summer—but his habit of snuggling as close as possible rendered all my efforts to break it useless.

"Fuji! It's boiling in here!" I protested, squirming away, earning an instant reproach from Eiji, who I resolutely refused to look at, given his state of being so entwined with Chiko that I barely knew where he ended and she began. Heaven alone knows why she could still sit there grinning.

"You shouldn't be like that, Tezumi," he shook a finger violently at me. "Couples deeply in love should be more romantic, like Chiko-chan and me." He grinned with simpering adoration at Chiko, who swooned. I pretended not to see.

"And why are you still calling him Fuji?" the cat like boy demanded. "You should be calling him Syusuke. Or even better, Suke-kun!"

"What about Tezumi then?" An eager Momo joined in the fun. "Sachie-chan? Sa-chan? Chie-chan?"

I gave Fuji a look. _You are a tensai, but you have a very weird taste in friends. _

Fuji just smiled. We both knew that it didn't matter— 

_**Fuji**_

—what we called each other, we would always be us, nothing more, and definitely noting less. A rose by any other name would just smell as sweet, after all.

I leaned in close with her again. I didn't find it at all hot in the room, though her flushed cheeks seemed to indicate otherwise. "I really don't mind what you call me. Though 'Chie-chan' does sound good..."

She was my girlfriend and all, but I would be forever trying to push her limits, and she would forever be trying not to strangle me. It was amusing, watching her shudder at the thought of me yelling "Chie-chan!" into her classroom during breaks.

"I have reason to fear assassination if you ever so much as say that name again in public." She turned her line of sight instead to Takahashi and Oishi, who were having a very in depth talk about something. How to cheer someone up, or something of the sort. Tezumi always insisted on bring her friend to our after practice meetings with the team, but always left her with Oishi to discuss methods on soothing someone's frazzled nerves. A strange pass time, but they seemed to enjoy it.

"Assassination? In the case of knives, I would willingly throw myself into the path of any number of daggers to save you, and in the case of guns, well, at least we'll go to heaven together."

I loved the way she blushed. "Fuji!" Grinding her nerves was always fun. "Are you aware that the rest of the people in this room are hanging on to every word we say? Will you for once act _normal_?"

The girl was somewhat like a vending machine. It was so easy to see which buttons to press in order to get what you wanted. "You want some privacy?" I pulled her to the back of the shop, a part shielded from the rest of the company, amid the whistling of my overexcited teammates.

"Fuji!" She was cute when she was exasperated. "Why do you keep doing this?"

"Doing what? Loving you? You want me to stop loving you?" I pretended to be hurt.

"No!" she groaned

"Don't you love me back then?"

"Yes, but..." She sighed, looked at me with her head tilted to one side and grinned at the sheer hopelessness of my case, giving up trying to win me in our argument. She simply submitted in quiet consent when I covered her lips with mine.

_**Sachie**_

I still loved his smile, just as I had adored it at the beginning of the year, when I'd only had a mere crush on him. I still thought that his heart-melting smile was there just for me, and I knew I'd always think this way. The thing was, this time my wishful thinking happened to be true.

I wish I could say "And so we lived happily ever after". But that wasn't real, that wasn't true, and that certainly wasn't us. There would always be arguments, misunderstandings, and all the rest of the common tragedies for couples. But what would a relationship be without something to fight over and thus something to celebrate and hug and kiss over once everything was ok again?

He would always be attempting to get on my nerves, and I would forever be trying to stop him, though liking his teasing very secretly.

I gazed up at him once his face was at a distance comfortable enough for looking at.

He smiled.

You know when some things get broken you can always fix them again with some glue or something. You could always patch your broken vases and torn paper back together, but there always seems to be a mark, a scar, reminding you that it would never be truly whole again.

That it would always be weaker than what it was.

I looked up at what had been a broken simper just a few months ago. I looked at it, and saw something much stronger.

He smiled.

He would always smile.


End file.
